The Difficulty of Growing up
by tbrown92
Summary: Carl Foutley finds out what it means to grow up. Is he going to go with the flow or is he going to try to stand his ground? **CHAPTER 13 IS UP** Rated T to be safe, Minor alcohol use. CarlXBlake...
1. For Peace and Friendship?

"Mm-yup.. Sharp as ever." Carl says to his reflection in the bathroom mirror, getting ready for his first day in the eighth grade. Not that he does much anyway. His hair just naturally falls into place with a few swipes of his comb. He looked even better since he had grown out of his buck teeth as of last summer, making him more confident in himself.

A weird burning scent made it's way to Carl's nostrils. Carl emerged from the bathroom, It was stronger in the hallway. It didn't smell like burning food. He followed the scent to his sisters room. He peaked in and Ginger was doing something weird with her hair.

"Ginger!" Carl said loudly, startling her. As she jumped the hair torture device hit her neck.

"Ow!" Ginger exclaimed. "CARL! Look at what you made me do!" She examined her neck in the mirror, there was a brown burn mark.

"What are you doing to your hair, Sis?" Carl asked with a laugh.

"Well. I WAS straightening it." Ginger growled. "Do you mind, Carl?"

"Not at all." He said. "Your just burning your hair. It's stinking up the house."

"Get out!" Ginger said as she threw a stuffed pony at Carl, which he swiftly dodged before leaving his sister's room. Carl went to his room and gathered some stuff along with his new oddities magazine. Hoodsey would want to look through it.

"Carl! Ginge! Hurry up, Breakfast is waiting and it's not getting any hotter!" Lois calls up to her children. Carl makes his way down stairs, Putting his stuff in his back pack in the process. Dropping his bag he sits down and chows down his eggs and toast before his sister even reaches the table.

"Woah, whats the rush? We still have an hour." Lois claims watching Carl scarf his food. "By hurry, I ment more like get to the table. Not make yourself sick by eating too fast."

"Imma walk to school this morning." Carl says as he puts his plate in the sink and picks up his back pack, making his way out the door. "Good day." He says whilst closing the door behind him. He was feeling pretty good today, No telling why. He didn't question it. The morning solitude made it all the better. He almost forgot how long of a walk it was to the school alone.

"Wait!" He heard in the distance. "Wait for me!"

He turned around and saw Hoodsey run as fast as he could towards him as if on cue. When Hoodsey made his way next to him they started walking together.

"How was the camping trip, Hoods?" Carl asked once his friend caught his breath.

"Same as usual." Hoodsey shrugged. "Mom got food poisoning again.. Dodie is having some intense mood swings. That mix was bad, Carl. It was like world war 4 for like two whole days!"

"Well at least she can't blame this one on me." Carl said with a grin.

"Yeah." Hoodsey said with a laugh. "Other than that, The trip was pretty fair. How has the last two weeks been?"

"Eh.." Carl shrugged. "I managed to put a frog in Ginger's bed again. Other then that, I didn't do much and not a lot happened, Gripling didn't even attempt anything. It was actually pretty boring.. Although, I got the new oddities magazine if you want to borrow it. I already looked through it."

"Sweet." Hoodsey replied as they arrived at the front door just in time for homeroom.

They both took their seats and as usual Gripling was sitting behind them, daydreaming most likely. Blake stared at Carl for a few seconds grinning to himself before turning his attention elsewhere. Without notice to Gripling, Carl passed Hoodsey the magazine.

The day passed like any other school day. Hoodsey got picked up from school so Carl was walking alone back home. Half way home, A shiny black limo pulled up next to him. That could only mean one thing.

" 'Ay there old chap." Gripling greeted once the window was rolled down.

"Gripling." Carl nodded.

"Do you want a ride home? It's a rather long walk and it's on the way." Blake said slightly hopeful. Of course it was on the way... They only lived a few blocks away from each other.

"Uhh.. Sure."

As soon as he accepted the door swung open, Inviting him in the large back seat. Carl closed the door behind him and the limo sped off.

"Hot Chocolate?" Blake offered holding a cup out in front of him with a smile. Carl noticed a little pink in Blake's cheeks and that glimmer in his eyes. From past situations, that usually meant nothing good was about to happen. He eyed him suspiciously and took the cup.

"Whats all this about, Gripling?" Carl asked in a low tone of voice.

"...Well, Im just giving and old friend a ride home." Blake said quietly, Staring into his cup. There was a pause and Blake sighed loudly. "I have been thinking and I just want to let bygones be bygones between us. This going back and forth is rather tiring, Carl."

Carl listened in between sips of the Hot chocolate. He thought about this all through summer since he hadn't seen a trace of him lurking around trying to get the petrified eyeball, maybe this is getting old. Blake looked up at Carl with a sheepish expression. Carl was almost staring daggers into him making Blake feel uncomfortable. Blake had been longing to be accepted by Carl ever since they met. He didn't know why, he just wanted his friendship more than anything. The best way to get his attention was to try to be a threat to that precious eyeball... and his tonsils. Blake really wanted his tonsils back.

"Can't we just be friends?" Blake asked sincerely.

"...Friends?" Carl asked. Blake nodded. "This isn't some type of plot to get close to me so you could steal my eyeball, Just so you know it is under heavy survalience. It's not going to work, Blakey-boy try as you may." Blake quickly shook his head

"No, No." Blake exclaimed waving his hand in defence, his cheeks glowing pinker. "Im growing tired of these games, Carl. Honest. Perish the thought, Im only trying to propose a sort of.. peace treaty.. If you will." Blake was trying to get Carl interested by speaking his language. Logic and legal.

Peace treaty.. "As in a piece of paper, legally saying that our long run feud is over. Signed in front of witnesses..?" Carl asked finishing his hot chocolate.

"If you'd like to go that road, yeah I suppose." Blake agreed. "I shall have one written up." If this is what he has to do...

The limo stopped in front of the Foutley household.

"Hoodsey and I will be over tonight after dinner." Carl said plainly. "Thanks for the ride, Winston. It was very appreciated."

"Not a problem, Master Carl." Winston replied with a cheerful smile.

"See you then, Foutley." Blake said as Carl got out and walked into his home. Lois and Dave were making dinner.

"Be ready for dinner in 20." Lois said when he reached the stairs.

"Yeah. No problem." Carl said. "Im going to Gripling's place after dinner for about an hour or so."

"Just remember it's a school night. I want you home at 8 o'clock, Ya' hear?"

"Loud and clear, Lola." Carl said and he continued up to his bedroom. He dropped his back pack and grabbed his walkie-talkie.

"Carl to Hoodsey." He spoke into it. After a pause he said "Come in Hoods!"

"Carl, Whats up? Dinner is almost ready." Hoodsey replied.

"We have a mission to accomplish at Gripling's house tonight after dinner."

"But.. Carl, You know my mom doesn't like it when I go out after dinner!"

"Just tell her Blake invited you over for tea or something!" Carl said as he plopped himself on his bed. "Im sure she would be happy your hanging out with someone who isn't me." Carl laughed. "I will meet you down the street from your house."

"We're walking?!" Hoodsey exclaimed.

"Oh it's not that far Hoods."

"It is in the dark..."

"Who knows, maybe Gripling will show up to pick us up." Carl shrugged.

"Yeah." Hoodsey replied. Carl heard a screeching voice over the walkie talkie. "Dinner is ready Carl. See ya later."

"See ya."

Carl put his walkie talkie on the night stand and he stared at the petrified eyeball sitting on the shelf above the head of his bed. Blake seemed sincere. But what does he want his friendship for? True that he doesnt have much friends other than his butler. And sometimes Brandon, but he doesn't know anyone who can stand Brandon for a long period of time. He and Carl had been doing this back and forth, pranking and plotting for some time now. Maybe the plotting has lost it's luster. Blake hadn't tried anything all summer, after all. And maybe Hoodsey is bored with the schemes as well. They are just... probably growing out of it. Carl knew they would grow up sooner or later just not like this. He was going to be thirteen in a few months and soon all the 'fun' will start. Fun meaning the angst of teenagehood. All the hormones and seriousness included to prep us for adulthood. It was all just happening too fast. He liked being a kid.

"Carl, Ginge! Dinner!" Lois called from the kitchen.

Carl got up and stretched, slowly making his way out of his room and down the stairs. Carl sat down and slowly started eating his meal. Turkey-loaf and baked potato - no fruit cup. Carl continued contemplating the issue. Everyone else at the table was watching him since it was weird of him to be quiet. Not a peep from him.

"So - uh - Carl.. What are you going to the Griplings house for?" David asked him trying to engage conversation.

Carl looked at him, then his plate. "Classified." Carl stated.

"Should have known better." David chuckled.

"Mom Pass the butter, Please." Ginger asked not caring much about Carls plans.

"How was the first day of school?" Lois asked her two children.

"It was normal, I suppose." Carl said. Then Ginger went on about some new classmate and an upcoming poetry competition. Carl was zoned out picking at his food. Lois examined him for a while.

"Carl are you feeling alright? You hardly ate anything." She stated with concern. "Are you sure your able to go see Blake tonight?"

Carl perked up. "Im feeling fine, Lola. No sweat. I ate a large lunch is all. You see, I saved up some money and was able to get seconds for dessert."

"It's Mom.. and Alright.. If you say so." Lois said.

"Might I be excused? I gotta get going, If im going to be home by curfew."

"Sure. Just rinse your plate before you leave!" Lois said.

" 'Kay."

Carl did as he was told and he left right after, Being welcomed by a black limo in front of his house, Winston was about to walk up to the door to ring for him but Carl beat him to it.

"Winston! My man!" Carl greeted.

"Master Carl." Winston said cheerfully. "We are picking up Master Hoodsey at his place as well?"

"Yes, If you dont mind." Carl said getting into the back seat when Winston opened the door for him.

"Of course not, Sir. No trouble at all." Winston said before closing the door. Blake wasn't in the limo, suppose he is awaiting their arrival. In no time Hoodsey was welcomed in and they were off to the Gripling household.

"Whats going on, Carl?" Hoodsey asked after he got in.

"Well, Gripling proposed a peace treaty. Much to my surprise. So to see if it's legit, we are going to see if he is sincere in the offer." Carl explained and recalled the conversation he had after school with Blake.

Hoodsey looked surprised. "Your going to agree to this?" He asked

"Well.. Yeah. If this isn't a joke just to get close to the eyeball."

"I, personally, think it's about time." Hoods said. Carl raised an eyebrow.

"This feud is getting a little old, Carl." He explained further. "It was fun when we were nine but now it's just.. silly. If he is offering peace and maybe a friendship then I think it would be a good start to a new chapter, ya know. We need to move on."

"Hoods, Man. Your getting deeper everytime I see you." Carl said putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks." Hoodsey said looking a little pleased with himself. "But if Gripling is joshin us then we can kidnap him, right?"

"Hmmm.. I actually hadn't thought about the other outcome.." Carl said thoughtfully. "I suppose. or we could just dye his hair blue in his sleep or something."

The limo stopped and soon the door opened. Carl and Hoodsey climbed out, took a deep breath and climbed the stoop to the rather large front door. Carl knocked several times and the door automatically opened revealing a rather happy looking Blake.

"Please come in. We will hold this meeting up in my quarters. Come." Blake said quickly ushering them inside the household. Blake smiled at Carl and the trio climbed the grand stair case and turned down the corridor leading straight to Blake's extremely large room. He had snacks and chocolate milk ready to be devoured, Just sitting on his coffee table. As they all got settled in, Blake pulled out a sheet of paper looking rather pleased with himself.

He wasn't kidding...


	2. It Starts

Blake held the paper out in front of him, urging Carl to take it. He was a little bit nervous about this whole ordeal, to tell the truth. "Read it, Disscus it. Please." Blake said nervously his voice cracking a little.

Carl looked at Blake then the paper as he handed it to him. Carl took it and examined it. The formatting was formal, stating that their feud was hereby over. He studied it intensely making sure there was no mention of the petrified eyeball or any of his other possessions. There wasn't. Not even the tonsils. Carl let Hoodsey read it and all that time Blake cleared his throat nervously, Hoping he had done everything right. He only had one shot at this.

"Well, What do you think?" Blake asked with a cautious expression.

"It's pretty fair." Carl said slowly. "But I noticed that it said nothing about the eyeball... or your tonsils..."

Carl examined Blake's reaction.

"Why ever would we want to mention anything like that?" Blake asked, Choosing his words wisely. Carl grinned knowing Blake did that on purpose.

"Carl, They are your possessions." Blake explained as he took a sip of his chocolate milk. "Even my tonsils. You found them fair and square."

"So you really are serious about this?" Hoodsey asked as he put the paper down on the table.

"Entirely." Blake said.

"No tricks?" Carl asked. "You're not going to tie us up, throw us in your closet and go look for my most prized possessions..?"

Blake looked stunned for a moment and started blushing again. "No! That's completely animalistic!" He yelled in self-defense.

"Okay, Okay. Calm down there, Blakey-boy.." Carl said. "We are just making sure nothing fishy is going on."

"I really just want to put it all behind us and move on." Blake said crossing his arm in front of him. "Is everything agreeable?"

Carl shrugged and leaned back into the couch. "Everything checks out, I guess.. I'll sign."

Blake handed him a fancy, monogramed pen and Carl signed the bottom of the document. He handed the pen back to Blake and he signed the document right under Carl's signature.

"It is official." Blake stated as he stood up. He held a hand out in front of Carl. "This feud has ended."

Carl stood up and shook Blake's hand firmly. Hoodsey looked at them and grinned. "Finally"

"So - um - do you guys want to hang out this weekend...or something?" Blake asked in a hopeful tone.

"We will see how the rest of the week plays out first before we decide on anything. One step at a time, Blakey-boy." Carl said. "You are welcome to eat lunch with us though. We can go from there."

Blake nodded, He was extremely cheerful but was trying not to show. "Very well then. We shall start our friendship anew tomorrow."

"We will see you later, Blake." Hoodsey said, checking the time. "Curfew."

"Same." Carl said as well, standing up getting ready to leave.

"Alright then." Blake said. "Of course." He walked over to the intercom on the wall and pressed a button. "Winston." Blake said into the speaker.

"Yes, Master Blake?" Winston's voice rang out.

"Winston, could you get the limo ready? Carl and Hoodsey are ready to leave."

"Certainly, Sir."

"Thank you. That is all." Blake said and he turned back to the pair. "The limo should be ready in a few minutes. Please help yourself to some dessert, take as much as you please."

"So we can we like - uh - take some for the road?" Hoodsey asked.

"Please do." Blake said. Hoodsey immediately started stuffing a few cookies in his hoodie pocket. Carl glanced at Blake and he was staring at him with a funny look on his face. Carl started to feel awkward. He shifted his weight to one foot.

"Uh – Bathroom." Carl said and he started walking out the room. He needed to get out, The awkwardness was way too heavy.

Carl walked himself down the hall into a large bathroom, locking himself in. He leaned on the door and started contemplating like he does. How was he supposed to go about this…? He was on good terms with Blake Gripling but he knows nothing more than chasing him away from his dog house, which he had sadly grown out of as of last year. He knows nothing more than to mess with him out of pure sport. Is he forcing this on himself? Whats next?

"Uhm.. C-Carl?" Blake's voice quietly asked on the other side of the door. "Is everything alright?"

"Now Blakey.. Would you really want to know that kind of personal info?" Carl asked as he walked over to the toilet and flushed it and turned the facet on for background noise.

"Uh… I-I suppose not…" Blake stammered. "Either way, The limo is waiting for you out front."

Carl grimaced at the door and turned off the facet. He opened the door finding Blake leaning up against the wall next to him, Smiling up at him sheepishly. Carl couldn't help but grin at him. Blake's cheeks grew pink once more.

"You coming to see me off, Blakey-boy?" Carl asked as he started walking to the grand staircase. Paying little attention to Blake's sudden embarrassment.

"…S-sure." He answered, following Carl down to the front door. Carl opened the door and bid Blake a good night before stepping outside. Blake didn't answer right away. He stared at him for a few seconds.

"Uhm.. Good Night, Carl." Blake said once he snapped back into reality.

"Hey Carl!" Hoodsey called from inside the limo. "What's taking you!?"

Carl started down the stairs and to the limo. Winston was holding the door open for him, as always. "Sorry for the wait, Winston." Carl said as he hopped into the backseat.

"Not a problem, Master Carl." He said airily before closing the door. Carl looked out the tinted window seeing Blake giving a very small, slow wave.

"Is Blake acting weird or is it just me?" Carl asked Hoodsey.

"I dunno, Carl." Hoodsey said quietly, Looking down at his hands.

"Hey Hoods.. What's eatin' ya?" Carl asked noticing Hoodsey's non-typical mannerisms.

"I dunno, Carl.." Hoodsey said a little louder. "He's always been like that. Always."

"What you mean?" Carl asked raising an eyebrow at his friend. "I never noticed any of that stuff."

"He's always been like that, Carl… You're just noticing now because you're not preoccupied with something else and he is in front of you." Carl looked out at the passing neighborhood as they strolled out of Protected Pines. He tried to remember any other time Blake had acted like this but all he could remember is pranking him and running him out of his property. Nothing came to mind.

"Carl… I think I know what's going on with Blake.." Hoodsey said slowly, as if he didn't want to mention it.

"Lay it on me, Hoods." Carl said snapping out of his thoughts. He wanted to hear his opinion.

"Uhh… Now just keep in mind that this is just a thought.." Hoodsey said for insurance. "Uhm… I-I think… Blake likes you…"

Carl snorted involuntarily. "Well of course he likes me, Hoods. If he didn't then he wouldn't ask to end the fighting."

"No, Carl.." Hoodsey said with a light facepalm. " Uhmm…. I think he LIKES you. _Like_, Likes you…"

It took a while for Carl to figure out what Hoodsey meant but when it registered Carl's eyebrows shot up. He looked at Hoodsey, who was staring at him sheepishly, secretly wishing he had kept his mouth closed.

"..Like…a crush?" Carl asked. Hoodsey nodded quietly. "Did he tell you anything like that?"

Hoodsey shook his head quickly. "Nope. I told you this is just a thought. It just… seems a little obvious."

Carl placed a hand on his chin thoughtfully. He wanted to know if this was true.. How could he find this out…?

"How can we find out if this is true or not?" He thought out-loud.

Hoodsey laughed a little. "Well you could always ask him."

Carl thought about it. That would just be embarrassing on both ends of the conversation…

"Carl…" Hoodsey said.

"Hmm?" Carl asked not noticing the limo had stopped and the door opened up.

"Carl… Go home." Hoodsey said. Carl looked at him and he pointed at the opened door.

"Oh.." Carl said blinking. "Okay, See ya Hoods."

"Night." Hoodsey called out when Carl stepped out the limo.

"Good Night, Winston. Thanks again!"

"Have a wonderful night, Sir." Winston said as Carl walked to his door.

Carl let himself in his house heading straight to his bedroom. Seeing his parents sitting on the couch watching tv.

"Night, Momster. Dave." Carl called out while heading up the stairs to his bedroom.

He closed the door behind him and he plopped face-down on his bed. This thinking is starting to hurt… Carl scanned through the numerous times he had caught Blake smiling at him. With that pink blush of his. Carl felt a small grin creep across his face. He rolled over with the intention to lay on his back but he rolled right off the bed and onto the floor. "Oof!" Carl called in surprise. He sat up and rubbed his back.

"Carl?" Lois called upstairs in concern. "You alright up there?"

"Uhm… YEAH, IM FINE." Carl yelled. He felt himself go pale when he realized what happened. "…I think…"

...And the fun starts...


	3. The Long Day Ahead

Just a few minutes ago he was trying to figure out how he could be friends with Blake Gripling, now he is falling off his bed and thinking about his smile… What? Just How? "Snap out of it, ol' boy…" He muttered to himself. "You're just tired." He climbed onto his bed and covered his eyes with his arm. He slept with little success. Dreamless, par usual thank goodness. He spent most of the night begging himself to go to sleep…

"Breakfast is ready!" Lois called from downstairs. "Up, Up!"

Carl groaned to himself, rubbing his eyes. He felt like he had taken the worst nap of his life. He sat up and took a deep breath. He got up and started to make his way to the bathroom. He slammed right into his sister in the process. Ginger groaned and leaned up against the wall. Ginger was never a morning person.

"Wha.." Ginger said and she looked at Carl who was sitting on the floor. "What happened to you? You look terrible."

"uhnno" Carl groaned as he got up from the floor. "Didin sleep well, I suppose.." He then walked right into the bathroom where he looked at his reflection. He was slightly pale, His eyes were puffy and bloodshot, and it seemed his face aged twenty years. He did look terrible. He shook his head at himself and got in the shower, hoping he could wash away at least some of the confusion and restlessness. After a reasonable shower, his color has returned to normal he felt alright. He kept his mind off the confusion by inspecting his reflection and making himself look at least a bit more presentable. He actually did care about how he looked every day. He brushed his teeth and combed his hair as usual.

"CARL! Get goin'!" Lois called. Almost right after there was a bang on the door.

"Come on, Carl.." Ginger said from the other side. "I've been waiting forever."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm almost done. Let me rinse!" Carl said with a full mouth of paste.

Carl spit and rinsed his mouth out doing one last inspection. He still looked tired but at least he didn't look sickly anymore. He opened the door and waltzed out in a towel.

"You better hurry, Carl." Ginger said before she walked into the bathroom. "Mom isn't in the best mood this morning."

"Thanks for the update, Sis." Carl replied as he slammed his door behind him. He already knew his mom was irritated this morning by his slow pace. He quickly got dressed and he grabbed his stuff, heading out of his bedroom. Making his way down the stairs his mom was cleaning up everyone's dishes except his, still full with food. His stomach cringed at the sight.

"Just on time." Lois said noticing his presence. She sat down next to him when he sat at his plate. She looked at him concerned.

Carl tried to eat his toast but it didn't settle. Lois studied his mannerisms and took a deep breath. "Okay… Carl, did something happen at the Gripling's last night?"

Carl shook his head. He didn't bother to answer his usual answer when asked personal questions. He was too busy trying to discypher what the hell was going on. "Now before you say anything… You should know that I'm always here for you whenever you just wanna talk… So is Dave, of course. You don't need to keep things hidden if you feel like you don't." Lois said putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm doin' the best I can here, but you gotta let me in sometime, ya know?…"

Carl stared at her he felt himself pale up a bit. He wanted so much to talk about this sudden change of pace in his life. All this confusion was so strong he felt sick. He nodded and made his best attempt to smile like normal. "I know Mom, Thanks." Carl said as his picked up his plate, getting rid of the food and putting the plate in the sink. "Can you give me a ride this morning? I'm kinda too late to walk."

Ginger has her own car as of last summer so she didn't need to rely on anybody for a ride anywhere.

Lois sighed looking at her son. "Sure thing kiddo.. I gotta do some shopping anyway."

They walked out the house and got inside the car. The ride was quiet and he was dreading class. Blake will be looking forward to conversation and lunch… Maybe this will go away when he sees him. Or when they talk. Or he could ask Hoodsey to slap some sense into him… The car stopped in front of the school. He dared to look out the window and outside the door there was Hoodsey and Blake talking. He gulped and bit the inside of his cheek. He gave his mom a hug and bid her a good day as he got out of the car. His mom pulled out and he shoved his hands into his pockets and slowly made his way to the front of school. In a matter of moments, Hoodsey noticed him and he walked up to meet him. He wasn't looking happy like he usually does.

"You know, you could have told me you weren't walking today…" Hoodsey said quietly. "I got a ride with Gripling though."

He looked up at Carl when he didn't respond.

"Woah, Carl. Are you feeling alright?" Hoodsey exclaimed. "You look really bad."

"Tough time sleeping." Carl muttered.

"Was it because of last night?" He asked. Carl shrugged slightly when he noticed Blake walking up to them.

"Hey Carl… Are you feeling alright?" Blake asked, slightly concerned with his appearance. "You don't look well."

Carl felt himself heat up a little. Was it THAT noticeable? He sighed to himself and slapped on a fake smile.

"Just fine, Blakey-boy." Carl said walking passed him. "Race ya to class!"

Carl started running into the building when the first bell rang with Hoodsey and Blake at his tail. Carl jumped inside the classroom and cheered. "One point, Carl! Yeah!" Hoodsey and Blake were at the door trying to catch their breath.

"Very entertaining, boys but if you don't mind taking a seat. I'd like to get started." The teacher said loudly before the late bell rang out through the hallways. Carl grinned slyly at the teacher and took his usual seat. Blake and Hoodsey took the seats next to him and the teacher started talking about geometry something or other.

Carl couldn't focus on classes or anything he just tried to study Blake's mannerisms as close as he could without getting noticed. Once in their third class, Blake caught him looking at him and Blake blushed wildly and Carl shrugged at him as if he wanted something. Blake just shook his head and continued on his class work. Carl sighed in relief putting his head in hands and rubbed his eyes. He made it to lunch without another incident.

Carl was insanely hungry since he had passed on breakfast so he had a very loaded plate when he sat down with Hoodsey and Blake. He started wildly gobbling down the food in front of him. Blake watched him in awe and slight disgust. Hoodsey just grinned as he ate, seeing he was back to normal.

Blake cleared his throat. "So – uh – How was summer vacation?"

"Pretty good, my family went camping at a different site this year. We always go on a camping trip during the summer before my sister go to summer camp." Hoodsey said while he ate.

"How about you, Blake?" Carl asked right out. "I'm interested to hear about your summer since I hadn't seen a sight of you during vacation."

Blake grinned a little. "Well, if you must know… My family went to Australia the entire time. We would usually go to Paris or Hawaii. The change was rather refreshing, Courtney didn't like it much though."

"Nice." Carl chuckled to himself. "Mine was boring. Petty pranks on my sister. Weeding yards for extra cash. I beat a few video games and expanded my alien zombie movie collection"

"Your pranks… petty?" Blake asked. "That doesn't seem to go together."

"I had no inspiration." Carl laughed. "Frogs in the bed… Green dye in her shampoo… Blah blah blah. It was all out of boredom."

"Yeah, I see what you mean." Hoodsey said shaking his head slowly. Blake finished his food and pushed it to the side. Hoodsey got up.

"Bathroom." He stated as he walked away, leaving Blake alone with Carl.

"Are you mad at me or something?" Blake asked.

Carl raised an eyebrow at him. "Why would I be mad at you?"

"You're just acting strange today." Blake shrugged. "Like this morning and… in class today."

Carl sighed and adverted his gaze away from Blake, Keeping himself from blushing. Carl was getting tired of this sudden embarrassment today.

"I don't know. I just didn't sleep well last night and I-I just have like a ton of things to think about right now." He stated almost getting angry with himself. "Hence the reason I wasn't looking well this morning. I'm not mad at you."

Blake relaxed a little. "E-everything is okay?" he stammered.

Carl looked at Blake and grinned his trademark grin. "Yeah."

Blake blushed slightly at Carl's grin, same as last night. Carl didn't need much more proof.

"Everything alright, Blakey-boy?" Carl asked. "You're looking flustered."

This made Blake redden up more, he gulped and drank the rest of his water. Carl felt a slight bit of cockiness with Blake's reactions. This was interesting to him.

"Yeah, E-everything is perfectly fine." Blake said straightening himself up. Blake smiled a little and this made Carl grin genuinely, Why does this happen? This happened last night. This thought made Carl blush a little. Carl took in a deep breath and got ready to do something he thought he would never do….

"Wanna come over to my place after school?" Carl asked. Blake's eyes got wide. What is going through his mind?

"Wha… Huh?" Blake asked dumbly.

"Come over. To my house. After school." Carl said slowly in a low tone of voice.

"You're not going to trap me again are you?" Blake asked remembering the fake play date incident. Carl snorted and laughed at the remark.

"Do I have to remind you of the peace treaty we signed last night?" He asked. Blake shook his head.

"I gotta give you the new transmission coordinates for communication reasons. We got new walkie talkies before summer started. I haven't memorized it yet so you need to come over and get them, maybe hang out and start planning this year's prank."

Blake sat up tall with a proud smirk. "Alright, How about I have Winston drive us to your quarters?"

"Sounds like a plan." Carl said with a grin. Hoodsey came back and sat back down, instantly noticed Carl getting along with Blake.

"What's up?" Hoodsey asked. Blake blinked at Hoodsey.

"Nothing much, really." Blake said quietly. "But if you'll excuse me.. I'm going to wash up before class. See you both soon."

And with that, Blake got up, grabbed his stuff and left the lunchroom.

"Did I miss something? …What happened?" Hoodsey asked. "…Carl?"

"Nothing happened, Hoods." Carl laughed. "I just invited him over to my place."

Hoodsey looked at him a little confused. "You.. What? I don't understand."

"We need to hang out more. Get him used to us."

"Carl! I have a doctor's appointment after school!" Hoodsey exclaimed.

"Bummer… Come on hoods.. We should get to class." Carl said as he got up and dumped his tray in the garbage.

"Oh come on, Carl. Don't ignore me." Hoodsey said following him.

"I'm not." Carl said as he shoved his hands back in his pocket, walking out of the lunch room. "I said it was a bummer… I didn't know you had plans."

They walked into class right before the bell rang. Carl didn't bother studying Blake any further but he often caught himself daydreaming the rest of the day not really absorbing much from his classes. He was just thinking about the past incidences within the past few years, He felt he had to sort through his feelings about the current situation. At the end of the day he pulled Hoodsey aside into an empty classroom.

"Hit me." Carl demanded. He thought about it this morning but he couldn't take much more. Inside, he was reeling almost going stircrazy. All this thinking was just too much.

"What?" Hoodsey asked. "Are you okay?"

"Nope." Carl stated. "I can't concentrate. Punch me, slap me do something."

"You need to calm down a bit, Carl." Hoodsey said cautiously as he gave him a bottle of water from his bag. "What's going on with you today?"

"Complicated." Carl stated before he took a long drink from the bottle.

"So something is going on with you…" Hoodsey said cautiously.

"I don't know…" Carl said and sudden panic hit him. "I'm letting him into my house willingly! What if he snatches my eyeball when im in the bathroom… or if I turn my back for something and he throws it out the window!?"

"He's not going to do anything." Hoodsey said. "You don't have to let him in your room if you're that worried. Want me to come over after my appointment?" Carl shrugged before taking another another sip feeling strangely calm after the minor blow up.

"I think im okay now." Carl said giving the water back to Hoodsey. "Thanks Hoods."

"Talking makes everything a little more bearable, Carl." He replied as he took the water from Carl. "So, No problem. Really." They left the room and walked out to the front of the school. Almost everyone was gone, Blake and Winston were sitting in front of the limo. Blake looking quite discouraged.

"Hey Blake!" Carl called. "How you doing Winston?" Blake lit up immediately.

"I'm doing rather well, Master Carl. Thanks." Winston smiled down at him.

"I thought you guys weren't coming." Blake admitted when they came up to him.

"Actually, Hoodsey won't be joining us today, Blake." Carl said as he shoved his hands in his pockets once again.

"Doctor's appointment." Hoodsey stated, as if on que there was loud blaring horn coming from the car behind the limo. It was Mrs. Bishop. "Gotta go. See ya." And with that Hoodsey ran to the car and hopped in, The car speeding off immediately.

"Oh." Blake said slightly surprised.

"It's going to be just us, Is that okay?" Carl asked Blake as Winston opened the door for the pair.

"That's perfectly fine." Blake said getting in the back of the limo.

"Thanks for the lift, Winston." Carl said before he got in.

"No problem, Sir." Winston said with a knowing smile before closing the door behind them. Moments later, the limo pulled out and sped out towards the Foutley residence.

* * *

That's Chapter 3!

Here are some quick shoutouts…

Thank you Seahawk51 and anonbanana for the reviews!


	4. Realize

Carl and Blake sat in silence for a little over a minute until Blake finally spoke. "So what kind of ideas were you thinking about for this year's annual prank?" Blake asked pleasantly.

"I actually have no ideas." Carl shrugged. "I am lacking inspiration lately, as we discussed at lunch."

"Wow." Blake said in a low tone. "I really thought I would never see the day that Carl Foutley would be having a creative block!"

"Oh, Shut it." Carl muttered. "It's just that I've sort of lost it through the years. I have run out every prank in the book and I'm not even 13 yet.."

"Well… If you had some assistance, then maybe you could get your inspiration back."

"Are you offering your assistance, Gripling?" Carl asked slyly.

"Perhaps." Blake said as he examined his nails. "You asking for my help, Foutley?"

"Maybe." Carl shrugged. "I can't hold anything against you since I agreed against blackmail and all."

Blake snorted inwardly. "As if you have anything against me, Carl."

"Don't be too sure, Blakey-boy." Carl said crossing his arms. Blake stared at him in his sideways glance.

"Whatever are you talking about, Foutley?" Blake asked sternly, raising his eyebrow in interest.

Carl just grinned at Blake knowingly. The limo stopped and soon the door had opened.

"We have arrived." Winston stated as he held the door. The pair grabbed their book bags and climbed out of the backseat.

"Thank You, Winston. My man!" Carl said patting Winston's arm before walking up to the front door.

"I shall ring when I am all done here, Winston. Thank you!" Blake said with appreciation.

"No problem, Sir." Winston said as he bid Blake goodbye. Blake waved at the limo as it pulled out soon after it was gone Blake turned to Carl and walked up to him as Carl held the door open for him pleasantly. Blake glared at him as he walked inside the Foutley residence. Carl closed the door behind Blake and grinned at him tauntingly. This was going to be fun.

"Hey mom! I'm home!" Carl called loudly. "And I brought over company!"

Lois came into the kitchen and smiled at Blake. "Well Hello there, Blake. Long time no see."

"Hi Mrs. Foutley." Blake greeted awkwardly. He has only met her once or twice the year before.

"Just call me Lois, Please and you are more than welcome to stay for dinner." Lois said. "Is Hoodsey popping by as well?"

"Um. I don't think so. Just us as far as we know."

"Alright, You boys have fun. I'll call when dinner is ready."

Carl nodded as he walked up the staircase with Blake following behind him. Carl unlocked and held his bedroom door open for Blake. He walked through cautiously with Carl close behind him, He disabled the alarm trap and switched the bedroom light on. Blake looked around for a few seconds then turned to Carl, Who was writing down the coordinates to their communication transmission. Blake crossed his arms and glared at Carl until he turned around to give him the coordinates.

"What?" Carl asked innocently. "Here take it."

Blake pursed his lips and took the piece of paper.

"Tell me what you know, Carl." Blake said in an irritated tone.

"Why should I?" Carl asked crossing his arms in front of him.

"Blimey, Carl! Seriously?" Blake blew up. Carl tried not to laugh at Blake's livid facial expression making his face all twisted.

"What's so funny, huh?!" Blake asked roughly.

"Why are you so worried about your friends knowing some details about you?" Carl asked with a laugh.

Blake's face turned bright pink. But he didn't look angry anymore.

"You consider me a friend…?" Blake asked quietly.

"Duh… If I didn't you wouldn't be here, right?" Carl said as he walked across the room to sit on his bed. Blake sat down on one of the two beanbag chairs next the dresser. "And plus… I was picking on you. Why are you so touchy?"

Blake shrugged and relaxed. "Not use to the fact that we aren't fighting anymore, I suppose."

"Sometimes, neither am I." Carl said indifferently. "It's something we have to get used to if this friendship thing is going to work." Carl glanced at the two jars above his headboard. "I guess we have to start trusting each other." Maybe he could try trusting him. Carl climbed up on his bed and walked to the two jars, disabling the hidden alarm and taking them down from the shelf. He lightly blew off the dust on them and climbed off his bed, walking towards Blake. Who was just staring at him the entire time. "Now promise me, you're not going to try to steal them. If you promise, then you can come over and see them whenever you want to." Carl said in a protective manner.

"…I Promise." Blake said looking stunned. Carl smiled down at him and gingerly placed the two jars in front of Blake. He sat down next to them as well. They sat in silence as they watched the body parts dance around in the jars. "You can pick them up if you want. Just respect them. No shaking, 'Kay?" Carl spoke quietly as he got up off the ground. Blake nodded with a childish smile on his face. He looked like a four year old in a candy shop. Carl grinned when he turned his back on Blake to look for some tunes. It didn't take long for the two of them to warm up to each other. Soon they were having conversations that they wouldn't normally have like what their favorite movies and where they like to go on their free time, Things they would like to accomplish in life. They shared secret info about their sisters to each other and shared stories of their families. Who knew they would become such fast friends?

He found out that Blake had a passion for painting abstract designs and creating model boats. He would like to be an owner of a major art gallery when he grows up. Carl was quite certain that he was growing fond of Blake Gripling as a person. Blake admired the eyeball and tonsils once more before handing them back to Carl. Everything seemed to work out. They were bonding seamlessly.

There was a knock on the door.

"Identify yourself and state your business!" Carl shouted as he put the jars back on the shelf where they belonged.

"Hoodsey Bishop. Best friend of Carl Foutley.." Hoodsey's voice called out on the other side, Carl looked confused. He didn't think Hoodsey would come by today. "I'm here to see and speak to Carl Foutley and Blake Gripling."

"Enter the premises." Carl said as he enabled the alarms on the jars. Hoodsey opened the door and walked in closing the door behind him. He sat down next to Blake on the beanbag chairs. He waved to Blake politely.

"Sup Hoods?" Carl said as he plopped down on the end of the bed.

"Nothing much. Just was bored so here I am." Hoodsey said with a slight shrug. "How is everything?"

"Great!" Blake piped up.

"We are getting to know each other, It's interesting." Carl said in a relaxed tone.

"Well this is great." Hoodsey grinned. "I'm glad you're finally relaxing."

Blake raised an eyebrow but didn't seem too concerned. He was fiddling around with a rubix cube Carl had under the stereo system. "You did seem off today.." Blake commented. And we were back to this. Why is everything circling around his bad day?

"Everyone has bad days every once in a while." Carl said slightly exasperated. "That's all it was. Seriously."

"Okay." Hoodsey said. "I'm just worried about you."

"I know, Hoods. But it's nothing major. Nothing to worry yourself over."

Blake peaked up at the pair from his meaningless rubix cube twisting.

"I can never figure these things out." Carl said motioning to the cube. In attempt to change the subject. Blake wasn't trying to solve it, he was just letting them talk to each other. Blake bit his lip and stared at it.

"Watch this." Blake said and he started to work the puzzle out. Twist by twist, the colors were coming together. In less than three minutes, Blake solved the puzzle and tossed it to Carl with a proud smirk.

"Very Nice, Blakey-boy." Carl said as he held the cube up in front of him examining the sides.

"Thanks." Blake said shrugging.

"I've been wondering…." Hoodsey started. "Carl, what are you doing for your 13th?

Carl shrugged. He hadn't thought much about it. "I dunno. The usual lame party, I suppose."

"Oh come on, It's your 13th birthday in… like almost a month and a half, October 13th." Hoodsey said.

"Way to count down, Hoods." Carl said with slight laughter.

"It's sort of a big deal. You're going to be like the first of us to become a legit teenager."

"Big Whoop." Carl said in a sarcastic tone. "I don't like the idea of being a teenager. Too much dramatics and changes."

"That's what life is full of." Hoodsey shrugged. "It's not like you can hide from growing up, Carl."

"Ain't that the truth." Carl muttered mostly to himself adverting his eyes elsewhere from his friends in front of him. Hoodsey just stared at him for a little bit before having a conversation with Blake. Carl tuned out real quick and excused himself to the bathroom. He locked himself in the bathroom for a while. Contemplating about today. He splashed his face with cold water hoping to get himself out of lala land. Unfortunately, This brain fuzziness was seeming permanent. Has been since after lunch period. He was fully aware now that he was starting the teenager process early and… it kind of sucked! He doesn't like this confused feeling at all. He found out that he was a totally different person in front of Blake then Hoodsey. Those two separate situations don't mesh well. Who is this new personality coming into play inside of him? Usually he treated everyone the same, even his parents. But it was always different with Blake. He was an exception for some unknown reason. Maybe he does need to talk to someone about this. His mom? Maybe.. She offered.. Hoodsey? Not quite yet… But he will definitely notice something odd if this is going to be a new thing to his personality. He looked at himself in the mirror, He wasn't the same carefree Carl anymore, that's for sure.

Shaking his head at himself he walked out of the bathroom and back into his room where Hoodsey and Blake were laughing at something. Carl grimaced at them feeling as though they were laughing at him even though he knew they clearly weren't. Something about Blake's sister tripping on the beach in front of some boy she had her eye on.

"And – And The look on her face was priceless!" Blake laughed and he tried to imitate the face in all seriousness but he just laughed and covered his face with his hand trying to calm down. Hoodsey looked at Carl incredulously. Shocked that Blake was this comfortable with them already. There was another knock on the door.

"Identify yourself and state your business." Carl said protectively. Blake ceased laughing.

"Uuugh! Ginger Foutley, Sister of Carl Foutley. Hoodsey's mom called, she wants him home to clean his room and get ready for dinner. Carl, Blake, Dinner will be ready in about 20 minutes." Ginger said on the other side of the door.

"Okay, Thanks Ginger." Carl said. Hoodsey sighed and got up.

"I guess I will see you two tomorrow." Hoodsey said shrugging.

"See ya later, Hoods." Carl said.

"Bye Hoodsey." Blake said. Hoodsey walked out the room and closed the door behind him. Carl glanced at Blake and slid down to the floor in front of him, Relief plastered on his face. Blake sighed rather loudly in the silence causing Carl to look at him.

"Whats up?" Carl questioned.

"Nothing." Blake shrugged. "Force of habit. I don't mean to .. uh.. sigh like that."

Blake examined Carl's expression. "Whats up?" Blake asked Carl. For a second, Carl thought about spilling all he had been dealing with out in front of him but then remembered that Blake is one of the main causes. It's best he doesn't do anything. Carl shrugged and he picked up the CD case that was just sitting idly on the floor next to him and he pretended to read it.

"You're looking rather upset and stressed out." Blake said hoping to have Carl open up. Damn, He is trying to pry. He needs to say something to satisfy him.

"I dunno." Carl started. "Just my birthday. I'm wishing I could reset time back to where things in life were simple."

"Like back in fourth grade or something?" Blake asked.

"Yeah, Something like that."

"But if you did then we would still be fighting."

"Yeah, sorry but it was enjoyable." Carl scratched the back of his head after he threw the CD case over with the others.

"No offense taken." Blake said with a smile. "I rather enjoyed it myself. Believe it or not."

Carl got an idea. Carl smirked at Blake causing Blake's smile to fall a little. "Well…" Carl said interlocking his hands together and laying them on his stomach as he sat back, leaning into the side of the bed. "We don't have to stop the fun just yet."

"Whatever are you talking about, Carl?" Blake asked in suspicion.

"We could… Do bets and dares, like we used to do to challenge each other." Carl said grinning at Blake.

"Oh…" Blake said as he ran a hand through his blonde hair looking relieved. This motion was strange to Carl. He never saw Blake touch his hair in anyway. He was sure that it had mass amounts of gel in it everyday but it just looked… soft. Blake was talking but Carl didn't hear him. Carl did notice his face was heating up though. He slightly diverted his gaze twards his closet behind Blake trying to hide a possible blush. So random, What the hell is going on?

"Carl... What are you staring at? Did you hear me?" Blake asked tapping Carl's shoulder. "Carl? You in there somewhere?"

"Huh?" Carl asked his voice cracking badly, He turned his head and Blake was sitting on his knees. He had an amused look on his face. Carl cleared his throat to correct his voice. "No, I didn't sorry. What'd you say?"

Blake chuckled a little. "I said 'Sounds like a grand idea. I don't mind bets at all.' You zoned out really badly." Blake examined Carl's facial expression. "Hey, are you feeling alright? You look …uhm… heated." Carl looked at him weird and he felt his face a little, he was blushing still. This made him blush even more.

"BOYS, DINNER IS READY." Lois called up from downstairs. Carl absolutely loved his mother right now giving Blake a distraction while the blushing ceased. The pair got up and went downstairs to the dining room and took their seats with everyone else at the table.

"'Bout time." Lois said with a raised eyebrow. "I called up there about ten minutes ago."

"We had music on upstairs. Couldn't hear you, sorry, Lola." Carl said as he dug into his slices of turkey loaf.

"Uh huh." Lois said and she smiled at Blake, who was politely eating his steamed asparagus. "So how is your family now a days, Blake?"

"Oh, We are doing very well. My mum is working as an interior designer now. Courtney is taking after school courses on fashion and whatnot. My father is doing stocks and investments around the country. Keeping out of trouble as far as I know." Blake answered.

"That sounds… well… amazing! I'm glad you all are doing much better." Dave said. Blake smiled pleasantly at his hosts and continued eating his provided meal.

"Carl, do you know what you would like to do for your big 1-3 yet?" Lois asked her son. Carl swallowed his rather large mouthful of food and looked at his mother passively.

"I haven't thought about it…" Carl muttered. "I've been too busy to think about that stuff."

He lied about the busy part.

"I see." Lois said glancing at the boys. "Well let's see here. Let's do something different… We always hold your birthday at home…." Lois thought for a while.

"We… could…. Go bowling?" Dave asked the table. Ginger made a face at him. "Nope, okay. That's a no."

"If I could inject a thought..?" Blake spoke up. Everyone looked at him. "Perhaps we could throw a bash in the lobby of my house… We have a hot tub in the porch… We could provide a DJ. My mum would love this opportunity since Cortney's birthday passed last week and mine isn't until near the end of the year."

Carl looked at Blake with wide eyes. What was Blake doing?

"Well that sounds great!" Lois said in a surprised tone. "What do you think about that, Carl?" What did he think? They didn't want to know what he thought, He was considering strangling Blake right then and there at the dinner table. He sipped his water due to instant dry mouth.

"I-I…" Carl started but he didn't know what to say. "I… Okay…" What did he just agree to…. He never liked big parties like that. Blake smiled up at him.

"Good thing your birthday is on a Friday this year, huh?" Lois said happily satisfied.

Blake laughed a little. "Friday the 13th. I just noticed that. How fitting. Should it be themed?"

"Can it." Carl growled at Blake. That just made Blake smirk at him.

"Be nice to your guest, Carl." Lois said.

"Then it is final." Blake said happily. "I shall let my mother know."

"Have your mother call me and we will start planning." Lois said as everyone finished dinner. She and Dave gathered plates and Ginger served dessert, Cherry pie. Everyone talked about random things during dessert while Carl only injected one syllable answers, barely paying attention. That was becoming a habit now a days. After everyone finished and everyone was excused, Carl and Blake went back upstairs. Carl looked at Blake incredulously.

"What did you just do?" Carl growled at Blake.

"I'm just giving a dear friend the best birthday ever." Blake said as he picked his teeth a little. Carl sneered angrily at him. "Hey, I know you don't like the fact that 13 is coming up but it is. It might as well be brought in with a bang." Carl crossed his arms in front of him and glared at Blake who grinned at him and glided towards him with the grace of a swan. "I bet you that you will enjoy your 13th birthday party." Blake said with that smart smirk of his.

"What are the stakes?" Carl said in a low tone looking down at the slightly shorter blonde.

"If you don't enjoy yourself, I lose and I would have to tell you a secret of mine. If you do then it's vice versa. What do you say, Ol' Chap?" Carl frowned at him. What is he getting at? What could he have to offer that is interesting news? But then again...

"That is stupid, Gripling." Carl said disguising his interest for his own protection. Blake 'tsk'ed at him and waved a finger at him. "How about we add something." Carl said quickly.

"What would you like to insert?" Blake asked. Insert..? Why does he use such weird words?

"The loser has to go to the theater with Brandon in January. He has been griping about not having anyone to go with him for weeks now." Carl said lazily.

Blake rolled his eyes. "Fine. Deal." He held out his hand. Carl took it and shook. "Deal."

After a while of talking Blake got tired and called Winston to come get him. When the limo got here Winston called Blake and told him he had arrived.

"Yeah, Okay. Thanks Winston." Blake said into his cell phone. He hung up and turned to Carl. "Well I'm off for the night, Carl." Blake said as he hoisted his backpack on his shoulder. Carl grinned at him and nodded.

"Okay then, Blakey-boy."

Blake blushed slightly but he stood up taller and looked up at Carl. "You coming to see me off?"

Carl rolled his eyes and smirked. "Yeah, sure." Carl walked by Blake and opened the door and the pair walked out to the front door. Carl opened the front door and let Blake pass through. Blake walked out and turned to Carl.

"Good night, Foutley."

"See ya later."

Blake grinned and walked off towards the limo where Winston stood waiting for Blake. He opened the door and Blake climbed in. Soon the limo sped off and Carl went back inside and sat at the kitchen table alone as the sun set outside. Lois randomly walks into the kitchen and Carl noticed instantly. "Mom, do you have a moment?" Carl asked without thinking.

"I have all the time in the world." Lois answered. She sat down next to Carl and looked at him. Carl didn't look at her. He just stared at a crumb on the table. "What's up, kiddo?"

Carl hesitated and thought for a moment. "I have been avoiding birthday plans for a while because I don't like the idea of becoming a teenager. All the moods… the voice changing… the confusion… but I have realized that even if I don't do anything… I'm still growing up to be a teenager either way. I have started already." Carl started. Lois just sat there and listened. "I'm confused about a lot of things, mom…. I am feeling things I never thought existed and it is scaring me. Really badly." Carl looked at his mom and she looked at him, wishing she could solve all his problems for him.

"Oh Carl…" Lois started, she thought for a little bit. "Carl, you're just growing up. Right on time too.. This family is full of early bloomers, Believe me." She laughed, Carl just looked up at her with wide eyes. "I know you're scared… This isn't fun but I can tell you it's not all that bad either. You're finding out who you are, so you should embrace it. Not run away from it." Lois put a hand on top of Carl's hands. "You're so brave already, you came to me and whatever is confusing at the time, it clears it's self up when things come into perspective." Carl sighed and looked down at his hands. He didn't feel brave at all.

"This feels like it's just going to get worse." Carl muttered.

"Do you know what exactly is confusing you?"

"I believe I do now that I think about it…" Carl answered and he blushed furiously.

"Oh dear… You got that from me." Lois said as soon as she noticed the red cheeks. They weren't some kind of pink or light red. It was _RED_. Carl just looked away.

"It's that noticeable." He asked, voice cracking slightly.

"Only on the degree of blush it is. Is this about … a girl?" Carl covered his face the best he could with one hand and shook his head.

"Nope not going there, mom. Don't even. Seriously, I don't even know how to feel about this."

"Okay, Okay." Lois said patting his hand lightly. "I get it. Not yet."

Carl looked at his mom and gave her a weak smile. "Thanks for the talk, Mom." Carl said quietly. "I needed it."

"Anytime, Kiddo."

Carl gave his mom a tight hug and went upstairs in the bathroom. He locked himself in and slid down to the floor bringing his knees to his chest. He closed his eyes and thought for a while. How had this escaladed so quickly? It's only been two days. Blake's smile made him smile. Blake's gracefulness made him swoon. Blake's eyes were so captivating, He could look into them all day if he could. His gentlemen like ways made him feel… _special_. Blake, Blake, Blake! How did this happen? Why? He was perfectly content before all this. He never felt this way with Noelle at all. He cared about her and thought she was cool with her telekinetic powers and all but Blake… Just perfectly ordinary Blake made his heart race and make him feel things he couldn't describe. He was more than fond of Blake Gripling, It's not going away. He might as well accept himself since running away isn't an option.

He got up from the bathroom floor and started the shower up without looking into the mirror at all. The hot water made him feel a little bit better about himself but he was still bothered. Who else could he talk to?

After his shower he dried off and got dressed in his usual night clothes, with no hope of going to sleep he paced his room and thought. Soon he found himself in front of his sister's door, her bedroom light was still on and she heard her talking to herself, she was probably writing in her journal. Carl got the courage to knock on her door softly.

"Who is it?" Ginger asked.

"It-it's Carl…" He answered quietly. Soon the door opened and she looked at him.

"Whats up, Carl?" She asked seriously and slightly concerned.

"Can I talk to you about something?"

"Is it important?"

"As important as ever." Carl stated. "I really need your help, Sis."

"Come in." Ginger said. He didn't hesitate, He walked right in and she closed the door behind him.

"Sit, Make yourself comfortable. I'm ready to listen when you're ready to spill."

Carl sat down at the end of her bed and she sat across from him at the head of the bed crossing her legs. He was trying to think of a way to keep this as conspicuous as possible.

"Uhm… Okay… I seem to be getting confused a lot about things now and I don't know how to go about approaching these things…" Carl stated. Ginger raised an eyebrow at him as if he had more to tell but he kept silent.

"I need a little more info about this, Carl."

"Uggh! Ummm…. I think… I might like… someone… I'm confused because I used to not like this someone much at all but now that we are friends, I'm feeling stuff I don't know what these feelings are…" Carl started blushing again when he realized what he had said.

Ginger raised her eyebrows slightly, "Oh! Umm okay… Do you know if this person likes you back?"

"As a friend, yes definitely. As more than friends, it's possible."

"Then I don't really see the problem here… If you think it's possible that they like you as well then you should confront this person and ask them. It might not seem simple, but it really is. If you feel this chemistry, like there is a connection between you two then you should go for it. It's really, really scary but what's the worst that could happen?"

He wanted to tell her the problem but could it be that simple?

"Well… They could squash my heart to pieces… or torment me. Or my friends would blow me off because of this person… and because of how I am."

Ginger frowned, not really getting what Carl is trying to hint at her. "What's so bad about this person?"

"Nothing! They are perfect and wonderful… and graceful… and that smile…." Carl gushed for the first time in front of another person, His sister no less. Ginger's eyes got wide.

"You.. Uhm.. Got it really bad little bro." Ginger said as she ran a hand through her dark red-orange hair.

"I know, I do.. It's terrible…" Carl covered his face as he felt himself get redder.

"What do you mean, how you are? Everyone likes you as long as you're not pranking them…I still have no clue who you are talking about since all you seem to hang around is Hoodsey and Blake Gripling now a days…." Ginger said thoughtfully, she chewed her pinkie a little out of habit. Carl looked up at her with a defeated look on his face. She looked at him and it registered. Her eyes grew. "Oh.. You!... and Hoodsey..?" Carl shook his head furiously. "No… Blake.. Oh…Oh Carl…." She put a hand to her mouth. Carl put his head in his hands, he was so exhausted from this. Ginger pulled him into a tight hug.

"Everything is going to be okay, Carl.. This isn't a bad thing." Ginger said as she held her little brother. "I'm sure Hoodsey won't think of you any less… You're his best friend…. Everything is going to be fine… We still love you all the same…"

As usual… When it counts, Ginger always says the right things…

Ginger pulled away from Carl and looked at him. She asked the dreaded question…

"Have you told mom yet?"

Carl shook his head and sighed. "I talked to her but not about anyone in particular. Just getting advice on growing up, ya know…?"

"It's okay… When you are ready… If you would like… I could help you tell her.. If you are afraid." Ginger said softly. "I'm pretty sure she won't criticize you for it… She isn't like that."

She continued to comfort Carl and give him advice until it was late, she sent him to bed when he was passing out on her floor. Needless to say, He slept well and he wasn't as scared as he was. The past week flew by without complications… as normal as things could get. He didn't confront Blake or talk to Hoodsey about any of this but when he was ready… The opportunity will show it's self to him. The week of his birthday grew closer and he was starting to get pretty excited, He was sure he was going to lose the bet anyway.


	5. How Simple

The past few weeks were a total blur but Carl spent the time alone adjusting to this new aspect in his life. Not anything drastic, talked to Blake over the walkie talkie about twice a week and He just stared at Blake's tonsils a lot. Just thinking. About Blake, School, How insane he is to think of Blake like this, which lead him to think of Blake again. Carl Foutley used to never obsess over anyone but he is totally smitten with Blake Gripling now. Maybe he should tell Hoodsey… He needed a friend by him.

It was now the day before his 13th birthday and he was pretty excited to say the least. He didn't show it at all in front of Blake though, He just shrugged at him when he was approached about it. Invitations were spreading like wildfire through the entire seventh and eighth grade, Everyone was really excited to go. Probably because it was held at Gripling's giant household. Blake was trying to get Carl to crack, which he was really bad at. Carl just raised an eyebrow at him and frowned a bit. That didn't stop Blake at all though.

"Come on, Carl." Blake said in a teasing manner. "I know you're essentially ecstatic, I can sense it."

"How so, Gripling?" Carl asked in his most aloof voice ever.

"Because I just can. Everyone is talking about your soiree, getting enthusiastic. Even Hoodsey!"

"That doesn't mean I am." Carl rolled his eyes. "Nothing has changed my opinion about my birthday."

They stood in front of Blake's locker as he put his stuff away for the day.

"Carl, my friend, It's not that merciless!" Blake exasperated, turning to him. Blake rubbed the back of his head and shrugged. "Age is just a number. It doesn't mean you have to transform into a teenager with all kinds of pure angst or anything of the sort."

"It just happens." Carl said trying not to look at Blake he ended up just staring at his shoes. "You can't control it. Things change and people feel differently about things. That's it." He should know, He's been living with it.

"One cannot live in the past." Blake said definitely as he closed and locked his locker. "I shall see you tomorrow morning. I have tennis lessons to attend in an hour. If homework doesn't infest my evening, I shall ring you via walkie talkie."

"Later." Carl said quietly as he watched the person he cared so much for walk away and out the school doors. Carl stayed in the hallway for a minute before he wandered over to the front of the school waiting for Hoodsey to come out, He was talking to one of the teachers about a project that was due next week. This gave Carl time to think up a way to approach the new topic he has held secret for a month and a half. He needed to tell Hoodsey before Blake eventually found out. Maybe he could ease into it instead of just going straight out and blurting it out. He didn't want to scare his friend off even though he knew that wouldn't happen. They have been friends for far too long to just drop their friendship down the toilet.

"Hey, you waited." Hoodsey's voice interjected his thoughts. Carl turned around and grinned at his friend.

"Of course." Carl said.

"What's eatin ya?" Hoodsey asked, seeing that Carl was distracted.

"Nothing." Carl said as he shoved his hands deep into his pockets. "I'm just thinking about some stuff, Hoods. My Birthday is tomorrow and the thing is, I'm actually excited."

"I thought you weren't." Hoodsey said in confusion as they started walking off the school grounds. "You haven't seemed excited since this planning started. It's really nice of Blake to do this for you."

"I don't want to blow my cover." Carl shrugged. "Blake and I have a bet, I told you."

Hoodsey laughed. "You're gonna fail so hard, Carl!"

"Thanks for the boat of confidence." Carl said with a small smile.

"It's just that parties at the Gripling's have a reputation, you know. I know that Blake hasn't thrown that many but still… AND it's all for _you_, Carl. You are the guest of honor here. Think of the presents! And the cake! Not the cheap overly sweet kind you have every year, it's the good stuff!" Carl laughed and shook his head. "I'm serious, Carl! Not enjoying yourself is going to be impossible!"

"We will see." Carl said. This tension was killing him and he was the only one feeling it. He had to wait until they were at least inside his room to start saying anything. "I'm just happy he didn't theme it…"

"That would have been hilarious." Hoodsey stated. "Friday the 13th. Now that is the perfect date to bring in a 13th birthday, you are so lucky!"

Carl shrugged. He honestly didn't think it was that big of a deal, He always loved Friday the 13th though so it was pretty cool.

"Actually… Wouldn't that make you unlucky? Since its Friday the 13th and all?" Hoodsey said with thought.

"Nah." Carl said as he kicked a rock into some random yard. "I embrace all superstitions. They are great because nothing really happens. Remember when we tried to do all common superstitions in one day? It was awesome and we only had a little bit of bad luck!"

"Carl, I got attacked by bees that day."

"You ran away unharmed." Carl said waving a hand at him.

"You broke your mom's foot bath AND you smashed the television set!"

"I got her a new bath the day after, and it was better!" Carl exclaimed. "It was fun, Hoods! At least to me it was. We should do it again."

"Not this year, Carl." Hoodsey said shaking his head. "I don't wanna be condemned to yard work for a month or some kind of groundment like that." They turned into The Foutley property.

"Aw come on, Hoods!" Carl said in a begging manner.

"Nope. Not doing it, Carl!" Hoodsey said as they walked inside the house and started up stairs running past Lois in the process.

"Hey mom." Carl greeted.

"Hey Mrs. Foutley." Hoodsey followed.

They went inside Carl's room after he disabled the alarms like usual. Hoodsey got himself settled and started reading his reading assignment. Carl plopped himself on the floor in front of Hoodsey and started staring into space trying to figure out a way to bring up this topic.

"Carl are you okay?" Hoodsey asked waving a hand out in front of Carl's face. "Earth to Carl!"

Carl swiped Hoodsey's hand away and Hoodsey raised an eyebrow at him.

"You do that a lot now." Hoodsey said. "What's going on with you? Really? You just zone out and get this weird look on your face."

Carl pursed his lips closed and took in a deep breath. "Okay.. Hoods, I gotta talk to you about something major."

Hoodsey closed his book and set it aside. "Carl… What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong."

"Well obviously there is."

"Just… be quiet for a minute, Hoods." Carl sighed. "I don't know how to exactly say something like this even though we have been through this conversation like… twice now. But this is totally different from Noelle…"

"Is this about Blake?" Hoodsey interrupted.

"…What?... Uhm.." Carl asked.

"It's okay Carl… Really…" Hoodsey said calmly.

"What are you talking about?" Carl asked in a quiet tone, slightly panicking.

"Carl… I see the way you look at Blake everyday and the way you talk to him and.. uhm… You blush like really badly now. You are almost as bad as he is. I get it and its okay." Carl was just staring at his best friend, speechless. Until he registered what just happened. Carl felt his face heat up so badly that his eyes stung. He turned his head away, fairly embarrassed. If it was that obvious then Blake must know as well. Damn it…

"I don't know what to say…" Carl muttered as he played with his fingernails.

"You don't have to explain yourself." Hoodsey said placing a hand on Carl's shoulder. "It's okay, Carl. You don't have to be embarrassed about it, sure it's a little weird but I am okay with it."

"I'm embarrassed because I have unknowingly made myself obvious." Carl sneered. "He must know about it now."

"Not really…" Hoodsey said. "He is actually pretty dense for a smart kid. He hasn't noticed anything different. I think he is too busy trying to keep his feelings away from you just the same as you're doing." Carl relaxed slightly but he barely believed him. He has lost track of how often he has blushed because it was now an everyday occurrence. Does the entire school and their mother know?

"So when are you going to tell him?" Hoodsey asked as he picked up his book.

"I... uh…uhm…" Carl stammered and then he fell back into his thoughts. He never once thought about actually trying to go after him.

"Well, He should know… Who knows what could happen? You might end up in a relationship…"

Carl looked at Hoodsey and down at the floor. He really never thought about having an actual relationship with Blake Gripling. He tried to think about it for a minute. He could see himself with him very well… being happy together… Holding hands… Kissing… "Aw man…" Carl groaned as he covered his face in embarrassment, shaking himself out of his thoughts. "I dunno Hoods… When it happens, It happens… It took me a while to come to you about it, I can't really say I'm ready to face Blake about it."

"Well when you do… I'm sure he would be extremely happy."

"I don't even know how to start a relationship like this…"

"Ask him out? I would assume it would be the same as with a girl… except.. Well… you know…" Hoodsey said but faltered at the end. Carl wasn't even near as close as to even think about intimate stuff. He understood the aspect of that stuff but he hasn't even came close to being with anyone in that way.

Carl stared at his best friend and shook his head. "Not going there, Hoodsey. I haven't been with anyone like that and I can't even to begin to comprehend that sort of thought." Hoodsey nodded in understanding.

"It's just.. I really like him. I am still battling with the confusion a little bit. I just don't have much to offer him… I truly think I am going insane sometimes. _Maybe_ in the next few years we could possibly have something, I dunno… This isn't how I thought things would be. Sometimes, I'm angry with myself for making things difficult but sometimes, I'm happy with myself like I like feeling these things. It's not going away anytime soon."

"Blake has been dealing with this for a lot longer then you have. I'm pretty sure he has ways of getting through this confusion stuff."

"I dunno how he is feeling things like this he is like two years younger than us!" Carl exclaimed.

Hoodsey shrugged while reading page after page of the reading assignment. "He is pretty advanced. He is in our grade for a reason."

Carl sighed and banged his head against his bed.

"The way I see it, Carl, is that you either keep this to yourself for all eternity or you tell him and hope for the best. You like him _a lot_ and it's not fair to like someone and hold it in without any relief.. It's just going to bubble up inside of you until you actually _do_ go insane. That's no way to live!"

"I know! I know…" Carl groaned. He finally stood up and turned on the radio, He started to pace like he has been doing since the start of this situation but he stopped when he saw Hoodsey look up at him. Carl walked to his bed and took down Blake's tonsils and sat down starring at them.

"Maybe I should give these babies back…" Carl contemplated out loud.

"What? Carl, No!" Hoodsey said closing his book, throwing it aside and crawled to the end of the bed looking at the jar. "It's like Blake said. We found them fair and square! I know you don't want to give them back."

"All I do is stare at them now… Holding them has no purpose." Carl stated. "It's getting pathetic. I'm getting so mushy I am actually making myself sick."

Hoodsey shook his head slightly at his best friend. "Carl, if you give those back it's not going to make this situation disappear. It might make it worse, who knows…"

"It might but I know for a fact that Blake Gripling was devastated when we stole these little gems right from underneath him like several times in the past. I feel sort of bad about it now…"

"That's ancient history, Carl…" Hoodsey said as he scratched his head lightly through his hood. "I mean… if you didn't grab them they might have been thrown out or something. He didn't know they saved his tonsils until you showed him. Plus, he has owned them before… You just bought them back when the Griplings went broke."

Hoodsey made a valid point but still Carl's mind was made up now. He was going to give them back to their rightful owner. Just when should he though? ASAP? Or give it to him in another two months for his birthday? That should do. Blake would be thrilled to get his tonsils for his birthday.

"The perfect birthday present, don't cha think?" Carl said in a proud manner.

"You're something else, Carl…" Hoodsey said sinking back into the beanbag chair. "But I guess you will do what you need to, huh?"

"He would be pleased." Carl continued, answering his own question.

Hoodsey sighed. "To say the least, Carl. If you feel the need to please Gripling anyway."

Carl grinned at Hoodsey and just shook his head, He wouldn't understand this anyway, but it was nice having your best friend on your side. It makes you feel less lonely. Carl placed the jar next to him as he dug into his studies, Like usual Hoodsey and Carl just did their school work completely content with how things are. They ate dinner and right after, Hoodsey went home with Dodie.

This left Carl alone for the rest of the night but that was okay, He was hoping Blake would call soon but he never did. Carl just shrugged it off and went to bed around midnight. Tomorrow was going to be big.

* * *

Thank you for all the reviews and favorites! Will have the new chapter up soon! XoXo


	6. Happy Birthday, Carl

The morning started as usual without the help of his mother to wake him up. He was already up and showered by the time breakfast was ready. Lois made her special dark chocolate pancakes with strawberry syrup for his birthday. Carl came straight downstairs before Lois even called to her children.

"Well there's the birthday boy." Lois said as she stacked his plate with three pancakes. "How are you feeling?"

"Not any different from the usual, Lola." Carl stated as he dug into his breakfast.

"Excited for your big party, are ya?"

Carl just shrugged at her as he continued gulping down pancake after pancake. Ginger hurried down the stairs suddenly but tripped on Carl's backpack and fell at the bottom of the stairs, sending Carl into a laughing fit.

"Happy Friday the 13th, Sis." Carl exclaimed. "As usual, I cannot be held responsible for any sudden bad luck today."

Ginger groaned as she walked into the kitchen, glaring at Carl as she sat down.

"Where's your hockey mask?" Ginger asked in a smart tone.

"I'm pretty sure you broke it with your large butt when you tripped and landed on my backpack."

Ginger looked like she was about ready to pumble Carl off his chair. "Alright, Alright. No fighting at the table." Lois said trying to stifle out a sudden fight between the two. Carl smirked at his sister and finished his plate.

"Well I'm going to walk today." Carl announced.

"Okay then, If you're sure. I could take you, ya know."

"Duly noted, Momster. Thanks but Hoodsey and I decided on walking today. Good day."

"Have a good day." Lois said as Carl gathered his stuff and walked out the door. Carl walked a block away from his house and met Hoodsey in their usual meet up spot.

"Happy birthday, Carl." Hoodsey said cheerfully.

"Thank you, My friend." Carl said happily. "How has your luck been this morning?"

"My mom almost broke her toe by jamming it blindly on the table leg… But my personal luck has been alright, nothing has happened yet."

"That's no fun." Carl muttered. "Your mom does that on a daily basis these days."

"Yeah, she's going to get her eyes checked again after she gets out of her x-ray appointment."

"I hope everything checks out alright." Carl said with slight concern.

"I'm sure the worst that can happen is her being stuck in a cast with dorky glasses. Nothing completely major is going to happen."

"Yeah." Carl agreed. "So how do you think school will be?"

"You won't know until you go and find out." Hoodsey said as they looked upon the school grounds ahead of them. When the two of them arrived Blake was nowhere to be found, He usually waited in front of the school if he didn't pick them up from their walk. Carl shrugged at Hoodsey before they walked inside Lucky Jr. High to go get some stuff from their lockers.

"Happy 13th, Carl." A random student greeted as he walked through the doorway. Carl raised his eyebrow and continued down the hall.

"Happy Birthday!" Brandon said, popping up from nowhere. "I will see you two tonight! I'm bringing sour-sweet limeade and my famous ooie-gooie triple chocolate brownies!" He sang as he pranced away and into his class.

"That was weird." Hoodsey muttered. Carl walked up to his locker and much to his surprise, it was all decorated with fancy ribbons of his favorite colors and had birthday greetings written all over it. Carl looked at Hoodsey. He shrugged in response as he opened up his own locker. Carl smiled a little and opened up his locker to gather his books.

"Good morning, Gents!" Blake's voice greeted from behind them. "Happiest of Birthdays, Carl. How is the locker design?" Carl turned towards him and gave him a grin.

"It sure was a surprise. Thank you, Blake." Carl said happily. He felt rather confident today. "How has your morning been?"

"Happy 13th Birthday, Carl." A random girl said in an almost seductive tone as she passed by the group.

"…Rather busy, as you can see." Blake said, motioning to the locker door looking pleased with himself but also slightly bothered. "It took ages to plan this little surprise seamlessly but as I can see… I pulled it off quite smashingly."

"That you did, Blakey."

"Happy Birthday, Carl." One of the twins greeted in passing.

"See you tonight." The other said following her sister. They giggled as they turned down the hall.

"Um.. Yes, well… I shall see you both in homeroom." Blake said staring at the twins that just passed with a light pink blush glowing under his fair skin before he slowly turned away and walked down the hall. Carl frowned and turned to close and lock his locker.

"Happy Birthday, Carl." A familiar voice said in monotone. Carl's heart almost skipped a beat as he remembered that voice. He turned toward the source and it was no other then Noelle Sussman leaning on the locker behind Hoodsey.

"Uhm.. Noelle! Hi… Thanks." Carl stammered in surprise. "What are you doing here?" Noelle moved to a state to the west in the middle of fifth grade after her family's trailer park was declared a failure.

"I came down for the remaining of the semester." Noelle drawled as she examined her fingernails. "What is this party everyone is buzzing about?"

"I… uhh… umm.." Carl stammered his voice cracking in the process.

"Blake Gripling is holding Carl's birthday party tonight at his place." Hoodsey said quickly.

"Blake Gripling." She said cocking her head sideways with an expressionless face. She walked over to Carl and examined him closely. "You guys are on bad terms, are you not?"

"No." Carl said quietly. "Not anymore."

Noelle smiled genuinely up at him. "How sweet." She stated.

"Sweet…?" Carl asked with a frown.

"I knew this would happen, I am happy for you."

"Wait ….What?" Carl asked confused.

"You and Blake." Noelle stated matter of factly. "I can sense it, Carl. You know me."

"What?! No!" Carl exclaimed.

"What do you mean 'No'? You have that type of vibe and He also has the same vibe to him and it seems he has a knack for blushing at you. SO that just means you two are-"

"NO. Nope. Nuh-uh. No way, Noelle." Carl cut threw her sentence.

"Ahh. I see. You just like each other." Noelle said quietly. "Unknowingly, I presume?" Carl just looked at her but Hoodsey nodded to her. Carl stomped on Hoodsey foot with a good force when he noticed. Hoodsey instantly winced in pain, dropping his books on the floor and shoving Carl into the locker doors to get him off of his foot.

"I see." Noelle said emotionlessly. "Well, I will be at this party so I will see you tonight. The bell is about to ring." With that, Noelle left leaving Carl almost scared to death. Never would he have thought Noelle Sussman would just show up out of the blue like that. Carl felt himself pale up as he leaned into the wall of lockers "Come on, Carl." Hoodsey said, grabbing Carl's arm. "Let's get to homeroom."

Hoodsey almost forced Carl to walk into the classroom just as the bell rang. He sunk down into his seat when everyone grew quiet. By the time lunch period came around, He couldn't count the many times he has been stopped in the hallway with birthday greetings. He knew this grand party was going to be too much for him. He was not used to this type of attention.

Blake, Hoodsey, and Noelle joined him for lunch at the table in the back corner. He wished not to be disturbed during lunch at least.

"Why are we all the way in the back?" Hoodsey asked while Carl just played with his food.

"Feeling a tad anti-social are we?" Blake added. "Ah the joys of being a teenager."

"People I never even talked to once in my life are suddenly bombarding me in the hallway and during class period. It's a bit overwhelming." Carl explained. "I just wanted to at least eat my lunch in peace…"

"Naturally that's what happens when you're throwing a campus-wide soiree. It also helps that it's targeted around a huge milestone in your life." Blake shrugged. Carl rolled his eyes and flung a spoonful of jello up at the ceiling. "Apparently from what I'm hearing in the halls, the ladies like older men around here. Lucky you, Foutley. You are the hot topic around the girl population." Carl frowned at Blake and threatened to hit him with the dish that held the rest of his uneaten jello. Noelle shook her head to herself quietly.

"Now, now." Blake said almost angrily to Carl, waving his hand at him. "No need for violence. Whatever is going through that mind of yours pray tell?"

"Classified." Carl grumbled. "You wouldn't want that information, Gripling. Trust me."

"I assure you, Carl, that your mind _fascinates_ me at times." Blake said in a low tone. Carl raised an eyebrow to that. Was he supposed to take that as a flirty gesture? Either way Carl diverted his eyes to the wall on the other side of the room to save himself from another embarrassing blush. Noelle got up and walked her tray to the trash can and quickly removed herself from the table, disappearing from the lunch room altogether without a word. "Who knew that Noelle Sussman would be joining us this semester?" Blake rambled as he watched her leave. "It's quite the surprise seeing an old girlfriend of yours, Eh Carl?"

Carl sighed and looked Blake in the eye. "What are you fishing for, Blake?"

"Nothing in particular. Just making conversation." Blake stated with much aloofness. "It's just rather funny to see her pop up on your birthday like this when she never contacted you during her move is all."

Carl shrugged. "I never thought anything about it when she moved. We had drifted apart long before any of that happened."

"I see." Blake said thoughtfully. "I'm glad you weren't emotionally scarred by the unsteady relationship."

Carl just gave out a non-communal 'Mmhmm' before he ate the last of his lunch.

"Hey Foutley." Terence said loudly as he walked up to the back table. "Has anyone gave you your birthday wedgie yet?"

"Cease and desist, Terence." Carl demanded. "I'm really not in the mood to deal with your misgivings today."

"Since it is your birthday and all, I am going to give you an option. Would you like the wedgie before or during the party?" Terence continued as he ignored Carl's answer.

"I said, _Cease_ and _desist_!" Carl yelled angrily. Terence winced slightly and growled at Carl but he turned away without another word. Carl sighed loudly as he slammed his head into his folded arms. He wished everyone would just go away and leave him alone.

"Woah Carl… Even you aren't usually that harsh to Terrence." Hoodsey mumbled.

"He is so annoying!" Carl growled, why was he so angry at everyone? Blake was just eating the remainder of his lunch with an almost shocked expression he was trying to hide.

"Well yeah, Carl. It's Terence." Hoodsey said as though it was common knowledge, which it was of course.

"I guess my luck hasn't been the best since Noelle showed up." Carl muttered.

"She did sort of sour up your day." Hoodsey said. "But don't let that get to you. Everyone is looking forward to the party and you only have to put up with people for two more class periods! I really don't think Noelle is going to mess up everything for you or anything like that."

"Ms. Sussman doesn't seem the type to start trouble. So just simply relax, You are getting rather tense over practically nothing." Blake added. "This is your day, Carl. Enjoy it. Stop making it problematic."

"Problematic." Carl repeated. "Am I really being as difficult as you say?"

"Completely." Blake said definitely.

"Yeah, Kind of." Hoodsey said quietly. Carl winced at himself as he attempted to reflect on the day so far. "I'm sorry, really." Carl said. "I don't know how I'm acting some of the time. I'm going to try to be positive from now on. It's my birthday! I should be happy!"

"You are correct, Carl." Blake said as he finished his lunch. "With that being said. We should go to class. Lunch is almost over."

"Yeah, Let's get going." Hoodsey agreed as he took His and Carl's tray to the trash. After they disposed of their trash, the three of them headed out of the lunch room, towards their next class. "I almost forgot to tell you." Blake injected as they walked into class. "Winston is going to pick you up at around eight tonight. The attire is basically casual. Alright Carl?"

"Understood."

The rest of the class periods were just the same as the ones before. Slow and full of chatter about the party but when it did finally end, Carl was slowly bombarded by all these girls in his class but when he wiggled himself out of the class room he immediately left with Blake and Hoodsey. All three of them were almost being chased by a select few people down the halls as they were leaving the school building. Each of them took refuge inside the black limo right as Winston arrived. Carl didn't want to be hunted down by these overly excited party guest if he lingered any longer than necessary.

"I do hope this subsides on Monday." Blake said. "How insane! I don't even get that much attention for my own parties!"

"Talk about instant celebrity status." Hoodsey muttered as they pulled out of the school grounds. "It might be the new person factor.. You know, Carl has never thrown a public party…"

"See what I had to deal with all day?" Carl said quietly. "Thanks Gripling."

"Oh compose yourself, Carl." Blake said incredulously. "It won't continue forever. Nothing really does."

"I hope your right." Carl mumbled. "Did I mention that I don't like that type of attention?"

"In the past month?" Blake asked. "About twenty times. At any rate, you aren't around it anymore and at the party I am sure that everyone would be preoccupied to pay you any unnecessary attention but if need be, you are more than welcome to seek refuge in my quarters or my tree house."

"You still have that?" Hoodsey asked. "I mean… Aren't you a little tall for that thing now?"

"Through the years, I have made the necessary adjustments."

"What music is going to be played?" Carl asked.

"It's in your taste, I assure you." Blake smiled. "I had written down some sample songs from your rather large compact disk collection last time I was at your house to give the DJ a good Idea what to base the music on. You enjoy a lot of the classic rock and 'heavy metal' variety, some easy techno. Not much pop, hip hop, rap, or country listenings. I commend your tastes, Carl" That Blake was sneaky he was right about his taste in music, almost spot on. He almost feels like he just got his soul read like a book. His expression must have been showing because Blake looked rather pleased with himself after a few seconds of silence.

"No offense, Blake but.. You seem the type to like the classical stuff." Hoodsey said.

"No offence taken." Blake said. "But it's quite the opposite. I grew up to that stuff and I suppose I'm just downright sick of it."

"That's understandable." Carl said as he stretched out a little, relaxing now. He looked at Blake like he usually does when he doesn't notice. He was making a pot of tea. He handled everything with gentleness and grace, busy with his tea making task. He and Hoodsey were talking but Carl wasn't listening. He was zoned out studying the fair Gripling in front of him. He studies his facial features. Those lips looked so inviting, for a slight second he got the urge to jump across the limo and kiss them. As hard as he tried, he could never get a good look at his eyes because he was too embarrassed to look into them when he had Blake's attention. Carl had caught glimpses every now and then to know that they were a bright blue, details unknown. Weather they had other colors mixed in he didn't know but he longed to stare and learn. "Cream and sugar?" Blake asked his two friends as he poured the tea into teacups. Carl snapped out of it before Blake noticed him.

"Yeah." Carl said numbly. His mind felt extremely fuzzy.

"Like usual." Hoodsey said with a grin towards Carl. He noticed and he probably kept Blake busy with conversation. Blake presented the hot tea to the pair. Carl blew over the top of the cup to cool it a little before drinking, trying to not look towards Blake for very long. He listened to Blake's voice as he continued to talk to Hoodsey about an essay that was due this upcoming week. His voice was like music to Carl's ears.

"I'm going to go straight home to do the paper before the party starts." Hoodsey stated, looking at Carl hoping he had caught that. Carl nodded knowing he should do the same but it was probably not going to happen.

"Smart man." Blake said before he sipped his tea.

"It needs to be done before I forget it." Hoodsey shrugged. "I have a bad habit of forgetting tasks."

"As do I." Carl stated. "I get preoccupied easily."

"I'm almost forced into a quiet period in my household almost right after I get home from school." Blake said softly. "That's when I do my school work and if I have time, I continue on my hobbies."

"That sounds pretty routine." Carl said with interest. Blake stared down at his teacup but then glimpsed at Carl. "Are you happy with routine?"

Blake shrugged and sighed. "I spend most of my time alone so it's not that routine. It's just what I was raised with. Granted, I do get rather bored."

The limo stopped, Carl downed the rest of the tea since he was home now.

"I will see you both later." Carl said as the door opened for him.

"See ya." Hoodsey muttered.

"I shall ring you when Winston leaves to get you." Blake said. Carl nodded and he got out.

"I'll see you later, Winston!" Carl said as he ran to his front door, letting himself into his home.

"I will be upstairs getting ready for the party." He stated as he ran past his mother, straight up to his room. Once he was inside he closed the door behind him and he plopped down on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He really wasn't joking when he said all he could think about was Blake Gripling. He was now falling hard for him and it's killing him. Why couldn't this have waited for a few years? He didn't know if he could handle much more of this. He was losing his concentration a lot more frequently. If he stared at Blake for a long time he can't think about anything but what he was observing. His facial structure, His milky skin, His elegant mannerisms, how perfect could one get? Blake Gripling nailed it without trying.

"This is crazy." Carl stated to himself as he sort of punched the sides of his mattress with his curled fists. He sighed loudly and sat up looking at the ceiling. "I'm not sure why you picked this time frame, Big guy… I know you know what you're doing though. Just help me out a little, okay? I am in need of some guidance, I'm feeling a little lost. The last time I felt something remotely close to this is when I found Noelle. As perfectly strange as she was, We just didn't mesh well. With Blake… I just feel happy. I'm trying my best to accept this changing thing you're doing. I talked to everyone I could possibly talk to but I'm still uneasy. They say the same thing about this situation. 'Talk to Blake.' 'It's not that hard.' I just have this urge to kiss him every time I see him. It's grown to that. There is no way I could go back to being just friends without feeling things for him. He _is_ still a boy, so I don't really know why you picked _now_ and not until _he_ turned thirteen, at least. I would have been fine with that… Am I supposed to look past age? 'Age is just a number'. Blake might believe that but I wasn't raised to believe that term… I just feel that sometimes this hand you dealt me is just too big."

Carl sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. He felt a little better after that, Hoodsey was right. It was always better to talk about it. He got up went to take a quick shower. When he was done he pulled on his robe and turned on his radio as he stared at his closet. What was he going to wear? He knew it was casual but he didn't want to wear what he usually wears to school. Something presentable but not all dressy. He was the guest of honor anyway. He took out a pair of black jeans he got last year, he was sure he could fit into them now since they were big on him when he got them. He also picked out a few button down shirts to pick from. Black, Red and Black, or Plain White. There was a knock on the door.

"Identify yourself." Carl said while in thought.

"Ginger Foutley, Sister of Carl Foutley. Can I come in?" Ginger asked.

"Entry granted." Carl said as he stared at his clothing options. Ginger walked in and closed the door behind her. "What shoes are you wearing?" she asked as she looked at the clothes in front of them. Carl shrugged.

"My black and white sneakers probably." Carl muttered.

"My vote is for the white shirt." She said calmly.

"Yeah?" Carl asked. "It's supposed to be casual. So I was leaning toward the black shirt…"

"Do you have any ties?" Ginger asked simply.

"It's casual, Ginge."

"So?" She asked as she searched through his closet. "When done right.. You can make a formal suit look casual." She pulled out his black tie and searched it for stains of any sort. "Wear the white shirt. I will walk out for a few minutes so you can change."

Carl watched her walk out of his room with his tie. He went and put the other two shirts away and he got dressed in his chosen outfit. When he was done, Ginger waltzed right inside his room with his tie loosely tied up. She grinned at him and placed the tie around his neck under his collar and kept it loose. She untucked his shirt partially and stood back. Carl looked at the mirror and sighed.

"All I need now is some eyeliner and a studded bracelet." Carl said sarcastically.

"Oh come on." Ginger said. "You look good, Carl."

"That maybe, Sis, But it still looks a bit much."

"Not really." Ginger said. "Here, Clip this on." She took off her chained wallet and handed the chain to him. She took her wallet off of it and clipped a weight to the other end and putting it in his back pocket. He clipped the other end to his front belt loop. Now he looked like a punk.

"That tones it down a bit." Ginger said and then she applauded. Carl just frowned at her a little. "With that face you pull it off really well. Mom wants you to come downstairs by the way."

She walked out of the room leaving him alone to look at his reflection, He shoved his hands into his pockets.

"How mainstream…" He scowled at himself before grabbing his walkie talkie and walking out of his room. He walked downstairs and everyone was gathered in the kitchen.

"Wow, Look at you." Lois exclaimed. "Looking good!"

"Many Thanks, Momster." Carl said. "Whats up?"

"Well, since you are going elsewhere for your birthday, we want to give you your birthday presents now!" Dave said happily.

Everyone placed presents in front of him on the table. Carl looked at them for a second and he smiled up at his family.

"Here, open mine first!" Ginger urged as she pushed her gift toward him. It was in a red bag with green tissue paper filling it. Carl took it and shifted the tissue paper around until he found a medium sized box he opened it and there was an expensive looking camcorder just sitting there in the box. He has been wanting one for two years now. He smiled up at Ginger and almost knocked her over with a sudden hug.

"Happy Birthday, Carl." Ginger said with a little laugh, hugging him back.

"Thank you, Sis." Carl said pulling away. Ginger smiled at him and his mother pushed two more presents in front of him. He grabbed the smallest of the two and unwrapped the blue wrapping paper. It was a framed picture of him, Hoodsey, and Blake from about three weeks ago when they all met up at the local park with Carl's family. Carl stared at the picture for a good while, grinning to himself. He stared at the incredibly happy looking Blake Gripling. A feeling of nervousness washed over him for a second. He smiled at his parents and set the picture down and picking up the large box in front of him. He tore through the wrapping paper and in an instant he knew exactly what it was…. The high powered telescope he had his eye on for a few months now.

"You're kidding me…" Carl said softly as he examined the box in front of him. "This… This is amazing!"

"We all chipped in to get it for ya." Lois said cheerfully.

"This is so cool!" Carl gushed. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"We are glad you like it, son." Dave said with a smile.

"Like it?" Carl asked. "I love it! All of it!"

He quickly hugged everyone in the room when suddenly the walkie talkie crackled.

"Blake Gripling to Carl Foutley." Blake's voice emitted. Carl's stomach jumped slightly as he picked up the hand held device.

"This is Carl Foutley." He spoke into the walkie talkie. "Winston on his way?"

"That's Affirmative." Blake answered. "He should arrive in about five minutes."

"Rodger that. See you soon, Blakey-boy." He said as he turned off the walkie talkie and he hugged his mom once more.

"Go get finished getting ready, Birthday boy." Lois said letting him go. "Right-o, Lola." Carl said as he gathered his gifts and took off up the stairs. Upon entering his room he set the camcorder and the telescope down but he kept the picture in his hand and he just stared at it as he plopped onto his bed. He was really getting so mushy but he didn't care anymore. He was glad to finally have a picture of Blake in his possession. He set it up on his night stand and stared at it trying to see every detail of Blake's big expressive blue eyes. He could see a little bit of grey in them but couldn't see past the pixels of the picture for more details. He decided to get up and turn off the radio and leave the room and head for the front door. Winston was waiting for him when he left the house. He walked up to Winston and smiled at him.

"Happy Birthday, Sir." Winston said with a soft smile.

"Thanks, Winston." Carl replied. Winston held open the door for him and he hopped in quickly. When the limo took off he scrolled down the glass privacy screen.

"Hey Winston?" Carl asked.

"Yes, Master Carl?"

"I was just wondering something… You should know, you hang out with Blake enough to know some things about him, right?" Carl asked. "I was wondering… How does Blake think… of me?"

"Master Blake… is quite fond of you, Master Carl." Winston said with a smile. "He has always looked up to you and always wanted to befriend you since you two met. Why do you wonder such a thing?"

Carl's mouth suddenly got dry. "I dunno. I guess I'm just curious to know more about him."

"Ah yes, curiosity…" Winston said idly. "Perhaps he has become quite mysterious through the years."

"How did the guest list for the party turn out?" Carl asked as he opened the mini fridge next to him in search of water. He found a bottle of champagne hidden in the back. He figured it must have belonged to Mrs. Gripling. He grabbed a bottle of water and closed the fridge.

"Oh it was quite the turn out! You must be rather popular this year, eh?"

"Not at all, actually." Carl said before he sipped the water. "Not until now anyways. It's a little bothersome. It should die down though at the end of the party. It's just because I'm turning thirteen and all. It's apparently a big deal around school."

Winston chuckled. "Ah I remember being thirteen. Quite a smashing year it was!"

"I don't see the big deal." Carl said airily. He chugged the water and threw the bottle into the trash can.

"Well, you become a teenager. A lot of stuff happens in that time period, Sir."

"I am _well_ aware of that, Winston my man. I have been dealing with a situation for a few months now that would fit so perfectly in that time period."

"I might be stepping outside my boundaries here but care to share, Sir?" Winston asked with concern.

"I don't mind but promise to keep this classified?" Carl asked with slight hesitation.

"Top priority classification enabled, Sir."

Carl grinned at Winston and took a deep breath. "Okay, I have come to like a certain someone with in the past few months. I don't mean the term 'like' very lightly. It's a full blown crush thing."

"I see." Winston said in a low tone of voice. "That is quite a situation, Sir."

"It's not a 'normal' crush though." Carl continued as he played with his fingernails, unleashing a massive blush.

"Not normal, Sir?" Winston asked with confusion.

Carl gulped. "This person is… uhm… A guy."

"Ah…" Winston said quietly. "I'm going to tell you the same thing I told a friend of mine whom dealt with this situation a while ago…. There is absolutely nothing wrong with homosexuality or even bisexuality. It just happens to be a part of who you are and you, sir, are an amazing human being. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Be proud of who you are because you will do wonderful things in this lifetime."

Winston pulled into the Gripling residence and parked the limo.

"Thanks, Winston." Carl said with a smile. Winston smiled at Carl with genuine care.

"Let us introduce you to your party guests, Master Carl."

Winston got out and opened the door for Carl. Carl left the limo and stared at the large double doors up at the top of the stoop. He heard a faint bass line pumping on the other side of the doors. Winston put a hand on Carl's shoulder, keeping him in place. He pulled out a cell phone and proceeded to make a phone call.

"Yes, Master Blake. He has arrived…. Yes, Sir." Winston conversed then he hung up and looked at his watch. "We must wait approximately one minute, Sir."

"… Sure thing, Winston." Carl said as he put his hands in his pockets, Blake planned an entrance he knew it. Winston closed the limo doors and watched the front entrance eagerly. A few moments passed and Carl noticed the door handles jiggle, Winston then released Carl to climb the stoop once he made it to the top he looked at Winston. Winston made the notion that he should knock on the door. Carl shrugged and knocked on the door. The bass suddenly stopped and the doors opened and he was greeted with a huge round of applause from everyone in the room, there must have been at least twenty-five people in the large foyer. Carl was struck with shock as he looked upon everyone in the room. Blake and Hoodsey ushered him inside and closed the door behind him.

"Alright! The birthday boy has arrived!" The DJ announced. "Let us all give him a proper greeting so we can start this awesome party out right! On the count of three everyone! 1…2…3!"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CARL FOUTLEY!" The entire room rung out. Carl instantly smiled a little bit out of embarrassment, he felt a little blush grow across his cheeks. The upbeat music instantaneously started with an extreme bass ringing through the room. Hoodsey and Blake both put their hands on Carl's shoulders.

"Looking good, Carl!" Hoodsey yelled over the music. Blake handed him a drink and smiled up at him this made Carl blush a little more adding to the one he had already.

"Very sharp." Blake complimented. "You clean up well."

Carl hid his growing blush by drinking the provided drink. By the taste, it was cola. He smiled at his friends quickly. Hoodsey held out a plate of appetizers to him and Carl took one that looked like it was a mini pie of some sort. Blake excused himself to go do a room check. He and Hoodsey stood at the refreshment table looking upon the partiers dancing to the DJ. He was playing a party favorite which had the crowd going crazy. Carl just smirked to himself as he indulged in the appetizers that were set out. One of the twins approached him getting a drink for herself smirking at him.

"How has your birthday been so far?" She asked as she flipped her long red hair off of her shoulder.

"It's.. uhm… Been interesting." Carl replied. "How has your Friday the 13th been?"

"Not a touch of bad luck in sight. " She said before sipping her drink. "I'm hoping it stays that way."

"Who knows what could happen." Carl stated as he tried scooting away from her seeing she was intruding his personal space. Hoodsey just sat there watching in interest. She just kept moving closer. "Who knows." She said with a giggle, then she started to walk away. "Save a dance for me."

Carl shrugged with disinterest in reply before she returned to the dance floor. He looked at Hoodsey who was acting like he didn't see anything. He was relieved that the attention wasn't as bad as it was at school but he was sure that the girls that had targeted him were going to approach him one way or another eventually. Blake showed up a little bit after that.

"What did I tell you?" Blake asked. "You are pretty popular with the ladies at school."

"Like I care for that, Blake." Carl said rolling his eyes.

"Oh?" Blake asked with interest. Carl sighed and drank from cup. "Let us dance then. You need to loosen up."

Blake pulled Carl to the floor and started dancing to the music, Carl didn't know what to do for a while but he started to rocking to beat of the bass. Feeling the music, like he usually does. Thank god Blake choose the right music there was a ton of good heavy metal songs which he grew to love within the past few years. This let him indulge in jumping and slight head banging, and not looking like an idiot. Hoodsey soon joined them when he found a dance partner. They all danced together for about fifteen minutes until he got pretty tired. The three of them went back to the refreshment table to get some water. The excitement killed his appetite a bit.

"Having fun yet?" Blake asked with a proud smirk.

"Get the attention off of me and I will, Gripling." Carl countered.

"Touché." Blake muttered as he leaned on the table. Carl looked at Blake's outfit, he looked pretty good in normal clothes. He wore a sweater vest but he had jeans on for once. He never wore jeans. Blake sighed and wiped his forehead. "I suppose I should do another round." Blake said simply. "My parents don't want a repeat of Courtney's party. Apparently everyone was shacking up left and right. I'll be back." Blake climbed the stairs and left Carl with Hoodsey once again.

"You are _so_ having fun." Hoodsey stated.

"I know."

"Especially dancing with Blake."

"I know, Hoods." Carl said with slight annoyance. "I'm not going to let him know until he catches me in it and he hasn't. So I'm sticking to my guns here as long as I can."

"I know." Hoodsey said as he devoured a chicken strip. "I'm just foolin' with ya, Carl. It's my job."

"Yeah." Carl said numbly as he watched a couple of people walking down the grand staircase. He laughed at them in his mind. A girl with short black hair walked up to Carl.

"Hey." She said. "uhm… We are in English together."

"Yep." Carl said as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "Ramona Cherish, right?"

She nodded with a bright smile. She reached around him and grabbed a cup of cola and she started sipping it making eye contact with him. Carl was looking around the place trying to shun her. "So your thirteen now?" She asked.

"Affirmative."

"That's cool… I will be thirteen in April."

"That's nice." Carl said as he looked at the staircase as Blake was walking back down it.

"I'm so excited. I'm planning this huge party at the lake! You should totally think about coming."

Blake spotted Carl talking to Ramona and he turned back around walking down the hall.

"Yeah, uh… Excuse me." Carl said as he stepped around and away from her. "Bathroom." Carl ran up the staircase and down the hall, Blake's bedroom door was open so he walked inside and shut the door behind him. Blake was looking under his bed or something but he popped up once he heard the door close. Blake sighed as he saw it was just Carl.

"Oh goodness… It's just you, Carl. You nearly gave me a heart attack." Blake said as he walked over to the other side of the room and sat himself on the couch.

"Why did you come back up here?" Carl asked as he sat next to him.

"I forgot to check a room." Blake answered quickly. "There are many rooms here, many corridors, and many rooms with locks."

"Your sounding a little nervous, Blakey." Carl said with concern.

"Oh?" Blake asked. "Well that is definitely not so."

Carl looked at him suspiciously and he walked over to where he found Blake.

"Uhm.. Carl.. Whatever are you doing, I wonder?" Blake asked as Carl got on his knees and looked underneath the bed. He found about two and a half bottles. Carl pulled them out and he read the labels. They were all the same champagne he found in the limo.

"Got a drinking problem, Blake?" Carl asked as he felt his heart take a dive into his stomach.

"Not quite. No." Blake said as he walked over to Carl, sitting on the bed.

"I saw the same bottle in the limo tonight."

"That is my mother's. She shares it with Courtney."

"Blake. I have to admit.." Carl said as he stared at the bottles. "This worries me a bit… Why are all these under your bed?"

"I didn't have room in the fridge in my tree house." Blake sighed, leaning back. Carl frowned at him.

"It's not full of alcohol, I assure you." Blake said in self-defense. "I just enjoy it sometimes. Not excess."

"I would believe that if I only saw one bottle not three." Carl muttered as he put the bottles in front of him. "Is this how you deal with your…" He almost said confusion. "Your problems?"

"I use to, but as I told you. I have taken up painting. So that is no longer." Blake said.

"Was… uhm… was I to blame…?" Carl asked as he felt a sudden force of remorse.

"No. No." Blake said quickly. He sat down on the floor next to him. "No.. Perish the thought. Never were you at fault."

Carl looked at Blake's face to search for a lying quality. None was found but he did find those grey specks in the pools of bright blue. Perfectly combined. He glimpsed at his lips for a second as Blake smiled reassuringly at him. They looked so soft from this distance. Very enticing. Carl smirked at him, looking him in the eyes once more. "It's my home life." Blake said as he put a hand on Carl's shoulder. "I did tell you I'm left alone most of the time, right? I'm spoiled and ignored at the same time. You, my friend, Added spice to my terribly boring life and to say the least, I got my attention fill from you. If you didn't exist… then I probably would have a 'problem'. This drinking… It's just something I hoped to get caught in. I never did as you can see… This friendship that we have established is like my saving grace. It's twice as better now than when we were fighting."

So Blake Gripling wasn't perfect… but he was at the same time, he didn't know how to explain it. Carl looked at the bottles and sighed. "…I guess I'm a little relieved to see that you're not this perfect human being."

"No one is perfect, Carl." Blake said.

"Tell me about it." Carl said rolling his eyes. "Just don't drink any more tonight, Please?"

"I can do that. I only had one sip any way." Blake shrugged.

Carl looked at the bottles and picked up the one that had only a half of a bottle left.

"Then to make things equal…" Carl uncorked the bottle. "Cheers." He took a large sip of the sweet liquor and placed the cork back on the bottle. Blake watched with mild amusement.

"You really didn't need to do that." Blake said quietly.

"I wanted to." Carl said simply as he placed the bottles back to their original position under the bed before he picked himself up off the ground. He held out a hand to Blake and helped him up off the ground. Carl saw Blake Gripling differently. He wasn't a boy at all. He feels things just as he does. Maybe age isn't important… to a degree anyway. They left the room and headed back downstairs to enjoy the remainder of the party. They danced some more for about ten minutes then he was presented with his birthday cake which was large enough to feed an army. He spoke to Noelle for a few minutes, catching up on life until she left the party. At the last hour of the party, they took refuge in the tree house which was obviously larger than it originally was. Hoodsey joined them to see the adjustment Blake spoke about earlier. People were starting to leave the party around that time. "Wow…" Hoodsey whispered when the light was turned on. "How big can this thing grow without engulfing the entire tree?"

Blake laughed. "This is actually the biggest it can get without building around it."

Carl located the sofa which he went and sat down on. Hoodsey followed but Blake went to another section of the treehouse.

"Hey Hoodsey!" Blake called out. "Could you help me out here?"

"Sure." He replied as he shrugged at Carl. Carl just sat there alone, looking around at his surroundings. Many model boats. Nautical curtains. An actual anchor was perched on the tree it was built around. Blake's paintings filled the walls. All abstracting colors and textures, each was different.

Blake and Hoodsey carried in a large slim box wrapped in shiny dark green wrapping paper. Hoodsey placed a bag next to the box and so did Blake. They both smiled at him. Carl looked at the presents and then back at his friends. "Are you serious?" he asked them.

"Entirely." Blake said as Hoodsey nodded. Hoodsey handed him his present. Carl shifted through the tissue paper to find an interesting sculpture. He pulled it out and examined it. It was a statue of a dragon perched protectively on a jeweled egg.

"This is cool!" Carl exclaimed. "Where did you find this?"

"A magazine my mom got on accident." Hoodsey said with a smile.

"I never seen anything like it." Carl said. "Thanks, Hoods!"

Blake handed him his bag after Hoodsey took his and placed it on the floor. Carl took it and rummaged around finding a small velvet box. Carl looked at Blake for a few seconds, he just smiled. He opened the box finding an actual spider encased in see through plastic embedded in a thin gold frame on a gold chain necklace. He took it out and stared at it and smiled at Blake.

"It's creepy and nice at the same time. It's so awesome." Carl said grinning like crazy, He couldn't stop. "Could you put it on for me?"

Blake smiled even more and blushed slightly, "I would be happy to."

Carl handed the necklace to him and Blake hooked it around his neck. He glanced down at it and admired it. He felt strangely happy. Blake pushed the thin box in front of Carl, urging him to open it. He reached down and tore the wrapping paper revealing a plain brown box. He took his house keys and opened one end of the box and he pulled out the thin item. It was a painting. By the looks of it, it was one of Blake's creations. It had a cluster of random shapes on top of shapes in multi-colors in the middle of a color explosion. The texture was rough. It was definitely eye-popping.

"Wow…" Carl said as he just stared at it. He was genuinely speechless. "I…I…wow…"

"I take it you like it." Blake said with amusement.

"I love it." Carl said quietly. "It's amazing. Thank you…"

"You are quite welcome." Blake said with that proud smile of his. Carl smiled back at him.

"I gotta get going…" Hoodsey said checking the time on his watch as he got up. Carl checked the time. He had about an hour left until he definitely had to get home. "My mother should be here about now. I will let myself out. Great party, guys. Happy birthday, Carl!" With that Hoodsey rushed out of the treehouse and joined the crowd of people leaving the Gripling residence.

"Well… I don't have to be home for another hour so…" Carl said quietly.

"Please stay, if you would like." Blake said. "By the looks of it, the party is wrapping up right on schedule. So I'm going to see the DJ off."

"I'll come with you." Carl said as he stood up. He tucked his necklace into his shirt and they made their way to the house. When they entered the foyer, it was almost deserted. A few people were talking to each other and Blake was talking to the DJ while he cleaned up his equipment. Carl made himself busy by cleaning up the remains on the refreshment table. This definitely was the best birthday of his life so far. He should own up to the bet, he had fun and Blake knows it since he was there the entire time. Blake knows almost everything about him now though… all except the tiny dilemma he has been dealing with recently. Carl watched Blake talk to the DJ as he helped out packing the equipment into the van. It seems he has done this before. Carl piled the dishes on top of each other and set them in the middle of the table. The place was surprisingly clean. Not a deserted cup in sight. Carl couldn't do much so he just watched Blake bid the DJ a good night as he drove off.

"Come on, Carl." Blake said as he climbed the staircase. "The maids will bring those dishes to the kitchen." Carl followed Blake to his room and sat down on the couch. Blake closed the door behind him and went over to his mirror.

"So. Blake.. I gotta tell you something." Carl said as he felt his heart start to pound on his ribcage. "I lost the bet."

"Oh, I know." Blake said with pride as he combed his hair out. "But alas, the bet was neutralized when you learned about my drinking. Has it not?"

"Yeah, I suppose." Carl said as he looked down at his sneakers. Trying to calm the nervousness. "I gotta talk to you about something. I have needed to for some time now."

"Oh?" Blake asked turning to him. Blake frowned a little. "Whatever could possibly be wrong? You look rather tense."

"Blakey.. I-I…" Carl started nervously. He looked at Blake when he sat down next to him, looking concerned. Carl felt a blush creep up his cheeks, he cleared his throat. "I have a crush on… someone."

Blake looked confused for a minute he frowned slightly but he gathered himself and he smiled at Carl.

"Is that all?" Blake asked. "That's hardly anything to get worked up about. Do I know this person?"

Carl smirked at him slyly. "I believe you do."

"I see." Blake said quietly. "Why ever did you feel the need to come to me about it?"

"Well… It's something you didn't know about me. And I seem to feel lost sometimes but I am falling really hard, ya know? This feeling is..uhm.. pretty serious. I need some advice."

"Lost?" Blake asked in interest. "I know that feeling quite well actually... When I was feeling lost, that's when I started sneaking the champagne but as time passed by, I didn't need it anymore because I accepted myself and this situation, with the help of a few trusted associates. I am no stranger to crushes. I have dealt with one for years because I just simply wasn't ready to confront them about it. Have you confronted this person?"

"…I have wanted to. But I just can't. I get so nervous when I do think I'm ready."

"Yeah." Blake said leaning back. This tension was downright killing Carl inside. All he wanted to do was grab that gorgeous boy next to him and kiss those soft angelic lips of his. Carl blushed even more as he stared at him. He didn't know how to just come out and say it. 'Blake, I like you, don't you see?' He wanted so much to run his hands through his soft blonde locks. Carl sighed and Blake looked over at Carl, whom was staring at him longingly.

"C-Carl… You look feverish. Are you feeling alright?" Blake asked as he put a hand to Carl's forehead. Carl closed his eyes, savoring the touch. He felt his heart race once more. "You are rather warm."

"I'm fine." Carl murmured looking at Blake, whom was grinning slightly at him with that pink blush of his growing across his cheeks, He looked so adorable to say the least. That made Carl smirk back at him. Blake scooted a little closer to Carl, not by much but still he was closer to him.

"Who is this person that makes you act like you do, I wonder." Blake asked with a small chuckle. "This definitely isn't normal for you, Carl."

Another chance to tell him. Carl sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Take the chance or run away. What could he lose since he obviously likes Carl back. He was still scared none the less. Carl closed his eyes and pondered like he never pondered before. Just say it. He probably got the hints.

"I know." Carl said quietly. "This has been going on for about two months now." Carl stared Blake Gripling in the eyes. Those eyes just made Carl melt. He didn't have a care in the world for about three seconds. Blake just smiled at him. He needed to tell him. "Guess who it is."

Blake closed his eyes for a minute trying to think. "Brenda Dugginson?"

"That one girl from algebra? No." Carl said raising an eyebrow. Carl inched a little closer to Blake when he went back to thinking.

"Mindy Chase?" Blake asked looking at Carl.

"Nope." Carl said knowingly smirking at him. "One more guess." His heart pumped even harder against his chest.

Blake looked up at him searching his face for a sign but Carl just stared at him. Blake gulped and looked at the other side of the room in thought. Carl was at the point of no return slowly making his way closer to Blake.

"Malory Neek?" Blake asked looking at Carl quickly noticing how close he was. Carl couldn't fight it any more.

"Not a chance." Carl whispered as he grabbed Blake's hand and the back of his neck pulling him close to him. Carl swiftly kissed those soft lips he has been dreaming of for so long. Carl's heart nearly pounded out of his chest as he did. Blake was stunned for a second but eagerly kissed him back when he registered what was going on, placing his hands on Carl's chest. Carl tangled his hand in Blake's soft hair, softer than he thought it would be. Carl pulled away catching his breath he leaned his forehead on Blakes as he gathered himself.

"Wow…" Blake murmured. Carl looked Blake in the eyes and smirked. He felt so relieved and really happy. "I…I-I…"

"Yeah." Carl said releasing Blake's hair. Blake grasped Carl's hand and caressed it for a few seconds. "I like you, Blake… A lot…"

"I… was starting to give up on you…" Blake said finally. "I'm glad I didn't."

Carl laughed a little. "I'm glad too. Why give up though?"

Blake blushed and kept his eyes away from Carl's stare. "I was starting to think that our friendship was as good as it was going to get so…" Carl placed a finger under Blake's chin and raised his face so he would look him in the eye.

"You have been driving me insane, Gripling. I don't know where to start with you…"

Blake gave him a small smile. "I should say the same for you, Foutley. For as long as I can remember…"

Carl stole another gentle kiss from him, holding his cheek with one hand. Blake grabbed Carl's shirt collar and pulled Carl closer, deepening the kiss. The two of them stayed like that for what seemed like forever, Carl was the happiest he has been in the longest time. He was in heaven right now and as far as Carl was concerned, He didn't need any of his presents. He just needed Blake at his side. This was the best thing he could have ever asked for. They both pulled away when there was a sudden knock on the door. They scrambled to look like they haven't been doing anything before Blake answered the knock.

"Enter." Blake squeaked as he patted his hair down. Carl straightened his tie and he cleared his throat once more when Winston opened the door cautiously.

"Um.. Excuse the interruption, Sirs but Lady Ginger is here to pick Master Carl up." Winston said with a nervous smile.

"Thank you, Winston." Blake said with a slight face palm before Winston closed the door. Carl felt a wild blush climb up to his face but he grinned at Blake when he sighed heavily. Blake was fanning himself with his hand trying to fend off a blush himself. They both glanced at each other laughed in relief.

"Would you like to come over tomorrow?" Carl asked after he calmed down.

Blake smiled up at him as Carl stood up, straightening his clothes up. "I would love to."

Carl grinned down at him picking up Blake's hand gently and kissing the back of it. "See you then."

"…Okay…" Blake blushed at him as he placed his hand down on his lap. "I'll ring you when I leave."

Carl smiled at Blake as he made his way out of Blake's room. He ran down the staircase, feeling as light as a feather. Winston opened the door for him.

"The gifts have been loaded into your ride, Sir." Winston said as Carl approached him.

"Thank you, Winston." Carl said smiling at him. He patted Winston's shoulder. "Thank you for everything."

"No problem, Master Carl. Have a great night." Winston said before Carl made his way down the stoop towards his sister's car, where she stood waiting for him. Winston closed the door behind him and he approached his sister with a proud smile, she looked at him with a raised eyebrow. They both got inside the car and started down the road.

"You look happy." Ginger said glancing at her brother. Carl just smiled wider.

"And I am just that." Carl said as they strolled past the gate.

"Alright, what happened?" Ginger asked.

"Classified." Carl stated proudly. "Had a good party."

Ginger sighed. "I don't care if it's classified. Something happened."

"Let's just say… that my crisis is no longer, Sis."

Ginger grinned at him. "I'm proud of you, Carl."

Carl just smiled in response as they drove down their road and pulling into their driveway. They both got out. Carl grabbed his gifts and the both headed inside the house.

"I expect my chain clean and on the table in the hallway in the morning." Ginger called after him as he hurried upstairs to his room.

"Duly noted!" Carl answered before he got to his room. He sat his gifts down with the others and closed his door. After a few moments of staring at his gifts, He picked up the statue and placed it on his dresser. He placed the painting next to his window on the wall where it fit perfectly since he didn't have much on his walls. He plopped himself on his bed and sighed happily to himself. He closed his eyes recalling the texture of Blake's hair, The softness of his lips… He felt extremely giddy and fulfilled. The rush of it all was completely intoxicating. For the first time in the past few months, He felt whole and most of all he felt like himself again. He looked over at the picture on his nightstand and he smiled at photographed Blake Gripling. Oh the things Blake Gripling did to him. He just simply couldn't explain.

* * *

Please continue to Review! I love hearing from my readers! XoXo


	7. Secretive

The next day started like a normal weekend. Carl gave the chain back to Ginger and he watched new episodes of 'The Hall of Strange' during breakfast. Hoodsey was forced to accompany his mom and Dodie at the mall so he wouldn't be over today but that only meant that he could spend more time with Blake Gripling since he was coming over after brunch with his family at the country club. Carl kept the walkie talkie with him just in case Blake heads over early. He still wore the necklace that Blake gave him the night before. As he watched his show but he kept his mind busy trying to think what to do while Blake was over today. Is Blake going to be normal or is he going to act weird because of what happened? Have they established a relationship or just put a weird tack into their friendship? It was too early to tell, indeed. Carl sat on the couch thinking about the possibilities barely paying attention to the woman who collects shrunken heads on TV. He ran through what happened last night, blushing to himself. Eventually, He decided to go up to his room and get dressed for the day, just in case Ginger came into the living room to find him red faced for no reason. He enjoyed those kisses immensely and the fact he kissed back made him feel even better. He wondered what Blake saw in him. He knew he shouldn't question it but as far as he could tell, Carl was nothing less than a major jerk to him. He doesn't deserve Blake's attention but he still stuck to him, trying to gain his approval for all those years. He even went to the graveyard with Carl to pay their respects to Mrs. Gordon on the one year anniversary of her death. He stood by Carl when he broke down crying at her headstone whilst talking to her. That's not one of Carl's best memories but still, Blake was there. He nearly forgot the many times at Blake's house they had heated arguments that resulted in pillows being tossed at each other what they often called 'plush wars'. One time Carl tackled Blake down to the ground and pinned him because he shoved Carl with force, he was being difficult with the results of a dare long forgotten. Blake wasn't nearly strong enough to retaliate. After being told he couldn't breathe, he got off the boy and he almost instantly retreated away from him, face all flushed. Carl had almost forgot that moment. There was always something different with Blake. Hoodsey wasn't there for any of this, of course. He always went home early due to his mother's strict curfews. He was pretty sure she set those curfews so he couldn't spend that much time with Carl to begin with. They were always unnecessarily early.

Carl turned the radio on and the music blared loudly as it usually did on the weekend. His mother and Dave wasn't home due to work. Ginger was always either in her room or at the Bishops house to do homework with Dodie and Macie. So Carl was always left home until he made other plans with Hoodsey. As far as he could tell, They were just going to chill here so he cleaned up the room a little and he prepared snacks and glasses of soda since he was expecting Blake over soon. He carried the tray up to his room as the walkie talkie crackled lively.

"Come in Carl!" Blake said loudly.

"This is Carl. Whats up Blake?" Carl spoke into as he picked it up. Setting the tray on his dresser.

"Winston and I had just left the Country Club, I have been trying to call for a few minutes now."

"I was just down stairs, I guess I left the walkie talkie up in my room, Sorry, Blakey." Carl said with a small laugh. He plopped down excitedly on his bed.

"Quite alright, no need for the apology. I should arrive in approximately three minutes."

"Understood." Carl said definitely. The walkie talkie died on the other end so he threw his mindlessly behind him, landing on his pillow. He numbly listened to the guitar rift pulsing through the air from his radio. He grinned to himself as he picked up a book about medieval torture devices Blake gave him last month, he was doing a project on a select few. He had read a full chapter when the doorbell finally rung. He hopped off the bed and ran downstairs to answer. Ginger obviously wasn't home she would have been at the door already, she was probably at the mall with the Bishop family. As he opened the door, Blake peered up at him happily with a small blush hinted at his cheeks. Carl invited him inside and they both ran upstairs as usual.

"Great placement." Blake commented as he peered up at his own painting. Carl grinned as he closed the door behind him.

"I thought so." Carl said as he sat back down at the end of his bed he fiddled with his new camcorder. Blake grabbed a glass of soda and sat down in his usual beanbag chair.

"Very nice piece of equipment you got there." Blake said as Carl pointed it at him after he turned it on. He smiled at him while staring at him through the projection screen on the side.

"Ginger got it for me." Carl said cheerfully as he roamed around the room looking at the camcorder's point of view. Eventually, he turned it off and turned around without looking at Blake. He placed the camcorder on his CD holder next to his radio. He was stalling, nervously looking through some choice CDs. He heard Blake sigh lightly, it had a nice tinkling tone to it. Sounded musical, He longed to hear it again. He switched the CD out mindlessly not paying attention to what he put in, immediately air guitar and bass bounced off the walls loudly almost startling himself. Carl looked over at Blake and he was flipping through a magazine he had next to the tray of refreshments, suppose he was used to the loud music by now after coming over almost regularly. He took a moment to shamelessly stare at him.

"How was brunch?" Carl asked after he had shook himself out of it, walking over towards and passed Blake, plopping down on the end of his bed.

Blake gave a small smile. "My father was able to join us for once, So it was full of catching up since he hasn't been home since summer vacation. It was nice. You and Hoodsey should meet him. He was inquiring about friends."

"I would like to meet him since I know the rest of your family, including the help you have hired." Carl laughed. Blake smiled at the magazine, avoiding Carl's gaze obviously. Carl's smile fell a little. "Are you okay, Blakey?"

Blake looked up at him and his face flushed a little. "Of course, Just peachy." Blake muttered, sounding uneasy. He picked up his glass and sipped it politely, Carl took in his elegance before turning to the book he was reading before Blake's arrival. He assumed Blake just wanted a moment to relax so he hung himself backwards off the end of the bed turning him upside down and began reading once again. Every few sentences he peaked over the top of his book to glace at Blake in front of him. Carl read a chapter mindlessly. He was just turning pages, not paying attention to anything in the book except for a select few pictures. Blake sighed once more causing Carl to drop the book landing above his forehead. Blake stared down at him as Carl smiled sheepishly before sitting up, causing a minor head rush. Blake stared at him as Carl turned around and picked up the book which was a few feet from him.

"What are we?" Blake asked seriously.

"Huh?" Carl asked still recovering from the head rush. Dropping the book on his bed. "I knew something was bothering you. Spit it out."

"Well…" Blake's face turned a bright pink. "Last night… I mean… We both were drinking and… well…"

"I only had one sip, Blake." Carl said with a raised eyebrow. He sat on his knees next to Blake.

"Still… I really don't know how you are with alcohol in your system." Blake said worriedly.

"Neither do I, But I assure you I don't think I'm that much of a lightweight if at all. I didn't feel anything from it. Everything that had happened last night was totally honest, Trust me." Carl grinned. Blake smiled nervously as he grew pinker.

"Your just acting like everything never happened so I was just wondering…."

"Things shouldn't be that different." Carl muttered as he glanced at the carpet beneath him, his face suddenly feeling hot. Blake stood up suddenly and walked over to his window. Carl glanced up at him, he had his back turned to him and his arms crossed. Carl felt confused again. Why was he acting like such a drama queen? He stood up and walked over to him. He swiftly blocked Blake against the window/wall with his arms as Blake turned around to face him. Carl felt a little angry but more confused than anything. Blake looked up at him with wide eyes. "What do you want me to act like, Blakey-boy?"

Blake took a deep breath as he looked around him, Carl leaned into him more leaving only inches between them. Blake whimpered lightly out of instinct. Carl hung his head slightly keeping his thoughts at bay, the whimper made him melt inside and he looked pretty endearing when he was all flustered like he is. He looked Blake in the eye with a smirk spread across his lips. Blake hyperventilated slightly.

"Scared, Gripling?" Carl asked huskily.

"Not even… Just… a tad claustrophobic..." Blake squeaked and gave a nervous laugh. Carl's smirk grew and he backed off giving Blake space. He turned and grabbed a glass of cold soda from the tray and gulped it down, not realizing how thirsty he actually was. Blake sighed in relief and leaned against the wall for a minute, taking deep breaths. Carl grabbed Blake's glass from the floor and handed it to him kindly. Blake smiled up at him and took it into his hands, sipping it gently.

"If you were wondering… I still like you." Carl said finally as he sat on his bed. Blake walked over to him and offered a small smile as he sat next to him. "Were you looking for a relationship?"

"That's a rather loaded question, Carl. How do I put this…" Blake said quietly, thinking. "I do want one but I am a little anxious…" Carl's face fell completely for a minute, he felt a bit rejected. "I completely adore you, Carl. It is just that our form of relationship isn't exactly welcome in society though."

"That doesn't matter, Blake." Carl said quickly looking anywhere but at Blake. "It's either you _want_ to be with me. Or you _don't_ which is it? …Because I know I want to be with you." Carl was feeling like his heart was being ripped right out of his chest. Blake placed a hand on Carl's cheek and forced his head to turn and look at him. He studied his face for a good minute before carefully leaning into him, placing a gentle kiss on Carl's lips. Carl was dazed for a second and a blush made its way across his face before reciprocating keenly. Blake released a small moan as he gently bit Carl's lower lip, causing Carl to groan softly. Carl placed a hand on Blake's waist and pulled him closer before Blake suddenly pulled away, breathless leaving Carl wanting a little bit more. He laid his head on Carl's shoulder as he composed himself. Carl ran a hand through Blake's slightly messy hair. Carl cleared his throat softly. "Will you have me, Blake?"

Blake sighed before lifting his head up and away from Carl. He grinned at Carl when he looked him in the eye. "Of course I will." Carl smirked at Blake as a sudden wave of relief swept over him. Carl suddenly pinned Blake down to his bed before smacking him lightly with a nearby pillow. Blake laughed a bit before taking the pillow away from Carl.

"Don't play with me like that ever again, Gripling." Carl said before placing a peck on Blake's cheek.

"My apologies. Forgive me?" Blake pouted playfully.

"Of course… For now, that is." Carl smirked at the young Gripling under him before he lifted himself off of Blake and sat at the end of the bed. "You shouldn't worry about what 'the _society_' thinks though, Blakey-boy."

Blake sat up and looked at Carl, frowning a bit. He placed a hand on Carl's shoulder, grasping Carl's attention. "The thing is… For a long time, my family relied on their flawlessness to gain the ultimate social status. We just got our social status back last year… If our society finds out that the son of the Gripling family was gay... We would be set down low like we were four years ago when father got arrested… If this gets out, then my family would never forgive me. I might even get exiled from the family all together… I don't have the freedom that you have, Carl… I wish I could just simply ignore like you can but alas, I cannot."

"So… we are in secret." Carl stated like he knew this was how it was going to be. This idea nagged him in the back of his mind for a few days now when he actually started thinking about being with Blake.

"Unfortunately." Blake said. "If it were up to me, I would toss it all away to be with you publicly. I mean… Well after high school is finished and I move away from my family's residence for college, then I wouldn't really be watched as much… I could very much do whatever I want... If you are still up to it at that point."

"I can feel the torture already." Carl joked. This definitely wasn't ideal but at this point he would do anything for Blake. This was insane but he would do it without a second thought.

"So y-you're agreeing?" Blake asked with wide eyes.

"What did I just tell you?" Carl laughed. "I _want_ to be with you. You make me go insane already, why not make the situation to match?"

"We'll fight." Blake stated negatively trying to hide his amused grin.

"We do anyway." Carl smirked.

"This will make your life a continuous, tragic strand of disappointments."

"So?" Carl shrugged. Blake frowned at him.

"You told me not to play with you. You are practically setting yourself up to be played with." Blake said clearly irritated.

"I'll live, its not like you will be doing it on purpose!" Carl snapped, standing up and grabbing Blake's shoulders firmly. "Stop fighting me. Just let us be, I clearly don't care what you have to do just as long as we talk about what has to be done to keep your name clear. I just want you." Blake just stared at Carl with tears brimming. Carl felt his heartstrings tug at him, no longer feeling irritable but quite the opposite.

"Im just trying to forewarn you. I-I don't want you to compromise your own happiness just to be with me. I-I…" Blake said quietly, voice cracking in an upset manner. Carl loosened his grip but still kept his hands on Blake's shoulders.

"I won't compromise my happiness because I feel I won't be happy unless I have you." Carl said in a near whisper. Blake choked back a sob as the tears escaped his eyes, quickly dripping onto his lap. He smoothly pulled Blake into a firm embrace letting Blake quietly sob into the crook of his neck. He truly did fall for Blake very hard. Never would he have thought the circumstances could have gotten that deep. He just spilled his guts out to Blake, He just hoped this wouldn't get too out of hand. Agreeing to this type of situation was so unlike him. Carl Foutley always did everything he could to not be caught up in tense situations. When he did get caught in them he handled them with his remarkable cunning and just slip past it. Not this time. He is unfamiliar to these things when it came to affairs of the heart, but something was telling him he was going to be put through one hell of a ride.

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There, there. How about that twist of events, keeping the storyline going. The reviews are awesome guys, thank you so much! I shall update soon :)


	8. So Cold

**A/N**: I know that there are some argument about Hoodsey's Mystery man Identity weather it's Earl or Burl but after listening to it a good number of times (about 20), I am dead set on Burl. Sure Macie has a nasal condition but Hoodsey said it too. Burl Forkenshtock it is. I am very sure on it.

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It has officially been one month since Carl and Blake had secretly gotten together. Hoodsey was filled in on what was going on but no one else knew, not even Carl's family. They acted like total pals during school and when going on friendly outings but when they could fit it in their schedules, they took time to spend time together in the privacy of their own rooms, That's when it felt like doing this was all worth it. It had been a rule not to show any kind of PDA at all, for Blake's reputations sake. Carl had sadly grown accustomed to keep his distance even though he really didn't want to. He would give anything to hold his hand while walking to class. He wanted to show the world how much he truly cared for Blake. They fought about the situation only once when they had been only a week in. The stress had gotten to Carl, minding his own actions trying not to stare too long or too much during classes. Trying not to flirt at all during their morning chats in the hallway. He was feeling worse than he had in the beginning of it all, to say the least. Numerous times, Hoodsey gave the same advice every time he saw his best friend in distress… "Just dump him, Carl."

"I can't!" Carl said as he kicked the tree in his backyard out of frustration. "For the millionth time, I just can't! I care about him too much to just dump him like… like…"

"A bag of trash." Hoodsey finished. Blake had brushed Carl off this afternoon, Carl didn't like that one bit. Usually Blake jumps at the chance to be with Carl… but now he was so… cold. What did he do?

"Yeah." Carl said somberly. He sat himself down on the ground beneath the tree, bringing his knees into his chest. He was depressed and he knew it but at the same time he was happy to call Blake Gripling his, even if he had him in secret. He still had what he longed for.

"This isn't normal, Carl." Hoodsey said quietly as he sat in front of Carl, putting a hand on his shoulder. He diverted his gaze away from Hoodsey and just retracted into his thoughts. "It irks me to see you like this all day."

"You don't understand…" Carl muttered, resting his head on his knees.

"I understand that after you got what you wanted, it wasn't as you expected it to be. You're not happy. This might ruin your life if it continues. Maybe you two can pick it up after high school when he is _able_ to be with you."

"…Negative. He will hate me. I'm not going to lose him, Hoods." Carl said sternly. "I can't lose him. It's not an option."

"Okay… I think I have an idea." Hoodsey said quickly. "Remember when you stole the pig heart so you could save the pinkie's life? Remember?" Carl looked up at Hoodsey, clearly confused but nodded as he remembered the past events. "Well, I had an ulterior motive while helping you.. I left Macie notes in her locker before class. It was part of the plan but… I actually_ do_ kinda like Macie… A lot!"

"I remember." Carl said bleakly but smiled at the confession. "So your saying I could leave him notes in his locker?"

"Notes… Letters… Poems - It can't hurt." Hoodsey shrugged.

Carl thought for a minute and smirked at his best friend. "You know sometimes… I love that mind of yours!"

Hoodsey smiled. "Who knows… maybe he would reciprocate."

Carl rolled his eyes with a grin as he played with the sleeve of his jacket. He would like to exchange love letters with Blake in between their meetings. At least he could have a way to read into Blake's mind even for a moment or two. It could make a nice outlet for the suffering. What should he write to Blake in the first letter? Should be something mushy… or a harmless flirt. Poems are lame, Carl sucked at rhymes. Haikus aren't that bad though. So much he could pour onto paper but where to start? Carl sighed at the thought.

"So you still like Macie?" Carl asked, trying to pry into his friend's thoughts. Hoodsey nodded and smiled lightly.

"Yeah… But I think im going to wait until we are in the same school to ask her out."

"She'll be a senior then, right?" Carl asked slightly worried.

"I think so." Hoodsey said softly. "Im not afraid of my sister anymore since the three of them kind of drifted apart a little. They aren't exactly joined at the hips anymore. Right now I think she is dating some kind of artsy painter, but they aren't committed from what I hear."

"She's never really the committing type." Carl said as he thought back to his eavesdropping days.

"Yeah but I don't know how to explain it, Carl." Hoodsey said. "Something sparked between us at that dance. We almost kissed too! …Until Dodie started rushing over to us, I had to get out of there you know, She would have seen through my disguise in a second."

Carl nodded in understanding. He understood the spark very well. He had that spark every time he got to be alone with Blake. They didn't do much from the usual hang out and catch up with each other, Tell jokes and laugh, They did some minor dares including retrieving random things from either Carl's mom's or sister's rooms or if they were at Blake's place, hide common things from Courtney or Winston to kill boredom. He did recall numerous times they had make out sessions resulting in cuddling and falling asleep together after long conversations in between. Carl was comfortable with that. He just wished it happened more often. They saw each other without Hoodsey around maybe three times a month. He was thinking they could make it every Sunday so they could have every weekend together but either way he cherished their time together whenever they could make time for it. Maybe he could break up Macie and the Art dude so Hoodsey could get a say in before next year. It was a stretch but he wanted his best friend to be happy…

"Are you sure you want to wait, Hoods?" Carl asked with that cunning smirk of his. Hoodsey looked at him with caution written all over his expression. He knew something was being thought up.

"…Why?" Hoodsey asked with a slight frown.

"I dunno… What if you get your chance a little early? Like… say… at our Christmas party?"

"What are you thinking, Carl? I know that look!"

"What if we did some spying on the art kid and catch him cheating or something of that nature?"

"No.. Carl I don't think so… She doesn't like him enough to really care about that stuff. It probably won't make a difference. I would rather wait until she gets bored of him or something. I don't really want her mad at me before I get a chance."

Carl rolled his eyes and smiled, leaning his back against the tree. "Okay, No problem. It was just a thought. Think on it though."

"Sure, yeah." Hoodsey said plainly as he played with a dead leaf at his feet.

"Im pretty sure that since they aren't that committed. You could still talk to her at our Christmas party, Get a moment or two with her… if she didn't bring him that is."

"I might actually do that… It can't hurt right?" Hoodsey said perking up a little.

"I don't think so. Your just one of her friend's brother... Seems normal to me."

"Yeah…Yeah! I'll do it!" Hoodsey said slightly cheerfully. "But I won't reveal my false Identity just yet… It might shock her too much. I don't wanna weird her out."

Carl looked at Hoodsey like he had gone crazy. "False Identity? What? Are you superman or something?!"

"Oh… Yeah didn't tell you. I had to give her a fake name when she asked who I was." Hoodsey said meekly. "Burl Forkenshtock. That is one lie that I won't forget."

Carl laughed a little. He wasn't going to ask how he came up with that name but it was practically genius. "Yeah, don't do that yet. Just get to know her a bit more than her love of frogs." Hoodsey nodded with a small grin.

"Come on, I think my mom made some bread pudding last night." Carl said getting up after feeling his stomach grumble silently. "Awesome!" Hoodsey smiled and followed Carl to their kitchen through the back door. Carl opened the fridge and the pair instantly started raiding it, eating anything they could.

"_What_ did I tell you guys about eating in front of the open fridge?" Lois asked sternly as she found the two familiar beings hoarding in front of the fridge.

"But Mom! We are growing boys!" Carl said with a mouth full of leftover turkey from the night before.

"I'll let it slide this time, move over. I need to make a sandwich for Dave." She budged her way in to grab a few condiments and lunch meat. "He has been in the garage all day cleaning it up and finding things for Thanksgiving… maybe you boys could help?"

"Sure." The two said in unison.

"Maybe the cardboard boxes have new mold." Carl said thoughtfully remembering last year's boxes were nearly covered on the outside, such a marvelous sight indeed. He sure would like to have more mold samples for his extensive collection.

"Sweet!" Hoodsey exclaimed as Lois sighed in slight disgust. The two of them rushed to the garage. They found Dave sweeping the concrete floor humming to himself. Carl grabbed the dustpan and held it in front of the ready dirt pile. Dave smiled and swept it into the pan.

"Need any help?" Carl asked as he dumped the dirt into the trash bin.

"Of course!" Dave said happily. "I was just about to start bringing down boxes. We really should put the labels on the side rather then the top."

"Or do both!" Hoodsey suggested. "That way, at either angle… no one could get confused."

"Logical enough." Dave chuckled as he set up the ladder and started climbing. Hoodsey held the ladder in place for Dave as he started to pluck the brown boxes down from the high shelf. Carl grabbed the boxes as he brought them down, looking at the labels and setting them to the side in an organized manner.

"Hey Dad." Carl said getting his attention. "Are you skilled in writing at all?"

"Hmm… I think you're barking up the wrong tree here, son." Dave said as he grabbed another box for Carl. "Your sister is the writer in the family."

"Yeah, I know." Carl mumbled as he grabbed the box and set it with the Christmas decorations near the wall. "She isn't home and I sort of need a man's perspective. We have a writing assignment at school…" Carl looked at Hoodsey whom nodded in agreement. "Uh… on capturing a set mood. Lucky me, I was assigned.. uh.. 'Infatuation'. I would like to capture it in a man's point of view since a women's point of view is so _typical_. It can be in any form of writing, it just needs to ooze emotion."

Dave thought for a minute. "That's a very imaginative assignment. I commend your teacher, Carl!"

"Yeah, Ms. Zorski is awesome." Carl said with a smile. Hoodsey snorted to himself but Dave didn't hear.

"My advice would be to just imagine something you adore and write what comes to mind… Then work those things into something. Work it into your gross outs. That's manly enough I suppose."

"Brainstorming." Hoodsey said. Carl was probably going to do that anyway because that just his usual creativity.

"Yeah brainstorm." Dave said handing down another box. Carl looked down at the label reading 'THANKSGIVING'.

"We got one, Dad. The last one should be the next one down." Carl said as he went to put the box next to the garage doorway. "I guess I should ask… How would you write to mom, if you had to?"

Dave had the last box in his hands but he just held it there as he thought to himself.

" 'All that we have, always felt missing before, Though I love you today, tomorrow it will be more. Our love is life, we are the strongest tree, which will always grow forever, like you and me.'" Dave recited out loud. Carl grinned at Dave as he handed the box down to Carl.

"Is that a poem?" Hoodsey asked as he handed an Easter box up to him.

"It's part of one, yes." Dave said as he took the box and put it back on the top shelf. "I had a thing for poetry back in med school. I had a few books full of poetry I read for fun. I think infatuation or love is pretty diverse depending on who it comes from. We are all different people, right? So just look into your personality and make it yours."

"That sounds so easy." Carl said with a sigh, handing up another box.

"Ah.. But it's harder then you could imagine." Dave said with a grin, taking the box up and putting it away. "But when the inspiration hits you… **boom**, it flows."

"Alright." Carl said in understanding. At this moment Lois came in through the door with a plate full of sandwiches and a tray with four cups of hot tea.

"Looks like you got both of the boxes down. Thank you!" Lois said as the group came to claim their lunches.

"No problem, dear." Dave said, planting a kiss on Lois's cheek before grabbing his sandwich and tea. "We still have a few boxes to put back."

"Keep the Christmas stuff out though." Lois reminded him as she picked up a sandwich.

"As usual, Honey." Dave said before eating. Carl grabbed a sandwich and handed it to Hoodsey before pick up his own. After Lunch, they all finished up in the garage and brought the Thanksgiving stuff inside to start the decorating. At this time, Ginger had come back home and helped decorate the house with Dave and Lois. Carl and Hoodsey opted out and headed back upstairs to hang out before Hoodsey's curfew. Carl turned on the radio and plopped in a CD he had just bought himself last week.

"So when are you going to start writing?" Hoodsey asked. Carl rolled his eyes at him as he sat down on the second beanbag next to Hoodsey.

"Probably tonight… It's not like im going to start writing with you here. This is a personal matter."

Hoodsey laughed a little. "What if you need help with rhyming?"

"I won't. Stop teasing me will you? It was your idea in the first place." Carl said as he threw a paper ball at his friend, hiding the small blush of embarrassment he felt grow on his cheeks. Hoodsey laughed and threw it right back.

"I gotta make fun of you sometimes, Carl."

"Riiiight. Because life would be soo dull if you didn't." Carl said clearly drenching the statement in sarcasm.

"You know it." Hoodsey agreed as he took out his rubber band ball out from his hoodie pocket.

"So what are you going to talk to Macie about?"

"I don't know yet, I still have a few weeks to figure it out. Are you going to still give Blake his tonsils for his birthday? It's like this first week of December right?"

"Yeah, I am. His birthday is December fifth. I think he is going to send out his invitations Monday after school. I also got him something else."

"Oh yeah? What is it?" Hoodsey asked as he tossed his new rubber band ball up in the air and catching skillfully catching it as it came back down to him.

"I got him a new bike." Carl said nonchalantly. Hoodsey raised his eyebrows at him in slight surprise.

"Wow. That's really generous, Carl." Hoodsey said tossing the ball upwards once more.

"I know… But it's only fair." Carl shrugged as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He seemed to have gone through another growth spurt recently. "He got me two presents for my birthday so after observing his belongings, I saw his bike is a bit worn out. A new one seemed like a good present, so I saved my allowance for a month and placed it on lay away until the day of his party."

"Can't go wrong with that. Maybe he could come with us when the eerie-con comes to town in March. We usually ride our bikes to there for that."

Carl nodded thoughtfully. "That sounds pretty good, Hoods. I almost forgot about that."

"How could you forget it? It's like… we have been going every year."

"I know." Carl said with a grin. "I forget things sometimes. You know that."

"What would you do without me?" Hoodsey asked.

"Be bored with life." Carl laughed. There was a knock on the door.

"Identify yourself." The pair said in unison.

"It's Dodie." She popped her head in the door. "Mom sent me to pick you up, Hoodsey. She wants you home now. Dinner is going to be ready really soon."

"Alright. I'll be down." Hoodsey groaned. He hated it when his mom sent his sister to pick him up. She waved to Carl and closed the door gently. "I'll see you later. Carl."

"Later." Carl replied as he got up to leave. Hoodsey showed himself out leaving Carl alone in his room with his thoughts. He got up, grabbed his binder and sat at his desk flipping to a fresh sheet of lined paper. He stared at it for a while, pen in hand. How should he start…? Knowing Blake, he is a sucker for proper English but Carl was no Shakespeare. He had a pretty large vocabulary but nothing like Blake's. He tapped the pen a few times as he thought to himself. He didn't wanna write anything too mushy but well explained. He looked out the window, noticing the sun setting. The clouds burning a bright pink, like Blake's blushing face he has seen too many times. He smirked as he recalled the night of the peace treaty signing. The night this all started. He thought about it and started scribbling. He kept this up past bed time as total inspiration flowed onto the paper. He would mess up every now and then, resulting in crumbled up paper being tossed over his shoulder but after being hit with total fatigue he rubbed his eyes and stretched. Picking up the two parts of his finished work he reread it over…

_Dear Blake,_

_You wanna know what I first noticed about you? … That smile of yours accompanied by a small light pink blush. That's what stuck in my mind. I actually fell off my bed thinking about it. Granted, I didn't know what was going on at the moment, I thought I was going crazy. The second was your total gracefulness. You hold yourself very well, it makes me stop and stare every time. Your ever so common sighs reaches my ears like the sweetest melody and rings through my memory until it happens again. You maybe a little embarrassed by that habit of yours, but I look forward to it every time we chat. It distresses me a little to know I can't speak my feelings to you out loud but I am more than happy to write them down for you until we are able to freely state, whenever that may be. You are my favorite secret._

_I miss you every night. I can safely say that you are my last thought before I go to sleep and my first thought when I wake up. I have said this before and I will say it again… You drive me insane… but I really wouldn't have it any other way, I'm not ashamed of it. I know you're not either but we will get through this together, If you let it._

_I ask you to do one thing. Reply to me. Exchange thoughts with me. I would like to understand you on another level. Whatever is bugging you, write it down. I can help. I will do the same. This will help us fill in the gaps in our relationship. You are never a bother to me._

_Yours truly,_

_Carl Foutley_

He grinned a little, clearly pleased with his work. Not bad for a beginner. Not too mushy but soft enough to touch emotionally. He folded up the letter and placed it inside an envelope he had in his desk drawer. On the front of the envelope he wrote 'To: Blake' Once it was sealed he placed it in his backpack and crawled into bed, happily passing out towards a dream-filled slumber.

That Monday, Carl got up early and headed to school, toast in hand since he didn't give his mom a chance to make something. He had to get there before Blake and plant the envelope in his locker. He gobbled the toast down, practically power walking block after block toward the school. In a matter of twenty minutes he made his way down the hallways just as the doors opened. Locating Blake's locker he grinned to himself and slid the note into one of the locker slots and looking through it to see if the note landed safely incidentally spotting a picture of the two of them plastered in the back, almost completely hidden. Carl smiled at it and made his way out the school and sitting on the empty stoop. He yawned and closed his eyes for a bit. He nearly fell asleep as he was but felt someone watching him. He opened his eyes to find two big brown eyes staring at him about three inches away from his face. Not reacting his took a deep breath and smiled.

"Good morning, Noelle." He greeted as he straightened himself up.

"Morning." she repeated as she sat on the lower level next to him. "Trying to reach nirvana this morning?"

"No not really. Just resting until Hoodsey and Blake show up."

"It is unusual to see you here before me." She stated as she got into her meditating pose, taking several deep breaths. "But I do not mind the company, let's try to keep conversation to a minimum."

"Sure." Carl said. He wasn't going to talk much anyway. He returned to his own thoughts, closing his eyes. He rested his head in his hands, feeling the cool wind blow past him. He had accidentally fallen asleep like that, his mind entertaining him with near life like situations making him forget where he was. He was just staring at a tree blow in the wind watching leaves fall and dance around his legs until suddenly he had fallen into nothingness at a vast speed. Carl awoke startled, heart pounding at the false falling. He looked around him, lots of other students showed up and were talking to their friends before the bell rang. Noelle was still there but she was staring at him with a sly grin. Hoodsey was sitting next to him now giving him a knowing grin. He had cleared up that they weren't walking together to school last night.

"You had reached nirvana but fell out of it." She stated. "Nice place to be, yes?"

"Till you drop, yeah." Though he was pretty sure he was just dreaming. He looked up and spotted the Gripling limo in the distance. Excusing himself, he got up and headed inside the school to hide and watch Blake from a distance. He ducked out of sight in the hallway away from Blake's locker glancing out every few moments. When Blake walked in the school, He looked a little bit down. Carl carefully watched him as he placed his combination, popping the lock and once he opened the locker door the envelope toppled out and landing on his shoes. Carl watched eagerly as he picked it up off the ground looking around to see if anyone was watching him. Carl ducked out but watched as Blake placed the envelope in his backpack and setting out to homeroom. Carl felt his heart race with nervousness as he picked up his bag, heading toward his own locker down the hall. He placed his combination, opening the locker. He went to go pick up his math book but there was a folded up piece of paper on top of it. Carl felt confused as he picked it up, opening it up out of curiosity.

_Carl –_

_We never had that dance at your party, you know. Maybe we could hang out sometime before vacation to make up for it? I would really like to get to know you more._

_Always,_

_Heather Tilly_

Heather Tilly? One of the twins. Carl felt his face burn slightly as he roughly pocketed the note and headed to homeroom before the bell rang. When he walked in, Blake had his face shoved inside a text book not noticing his presence at all. Grinning to himself, Carl easily drifted off into a daydream.

The day was normal. Blake blushed every so often during lunch but hadn't said a word all day. He grumbled in agreement when asked something, Blake Gripling never 'grumbled' or 'mumbled' anything. He was clearly impacted by the letter or something was wrong at home. At the end of the day, Carl trapped Blake at his locker.

"So Blake." He said smoothly. "Wanna come hang out at my place today? It's been a while since you, me, and Hoods hung out."

"Oh… uhm… I really can't today, Carl…" Blake said rapidly glancing from Carl to his binder he was holding. "Uhm… perhaps we could… reschedule?"

"Blake…" Carl said slowly. This is the second time he has swept him off this month. "Is there something going on with you?" Blake just huffed and hid his face in his locker. Carl could see he was blushing as he tried to look like he was searching for something in the back of his locker. Carl just stood there and stared at him. He couldn't help but feel a little panicky. Blake looked over at him in a sideways glance, gulped and passed him a slip of paper as he closed and locked his locker. Carl hid it in his pocket quickly before anyone saw anything. Blake hoisted his bag on his shoulder and gave Carl a distressed look.

"I shall see you later, Carl." He walked around him and out the school. Carl frowned at the door as it closed behind Blake, him not looking back once. Had Blake rethought everything and distancing himself from him? Carl walked down the hallway as the last few students filed out the opposite way. He took the note out of his pocket and stared at it, still folded. He felt in his pocket and took out the crumpled, long forgotten note he had found this morning. He absent-mindedly tossed it in the trashcan and opened Blake's neatly folded paper.

_Meet me in my treehouse at 5pm. This is dire and I must speak to you about this privately._

_P.S. I rather enjoyed that letter this morning. I shall reply as soon as I can._

_B.S.G_

Carl panicked a little. What was this about? Is this the reason why he has been distant? He folded the piece of paper and slid it back into his pocket. Leaning backward into the wall of a deserted hallway he retracted to his thoughts. At least his letter was enjoyable. He sure hoped that this wasn't going to be the end of it though. If something was this serious, Blake might just call it off. Carl had just gotten comfortable, He though Blake had too until all the avoiding happened last week. Blake hadn't called at all. Maybe this will explain his behavior. One thing was for sure… Carl wasn't going to give up easily. He pounded his fist into the brick wall before making his way back home where he locked himself in his room skipping dinner. He wasn't hungry. Actually this whole situation made him a little sick. He counted down the minutes, just staring at the clock and at the picture he had next to his bed. Blake's smile took the edge off of the unbearable anticipation but it was still very much there. Carl plopped down on his bed and stared at the ceiling for a while. He couldn't stop thinking and analyzing the numerous times they had spent together. Where had he gone wrong? Did he somehow offend Blake? Had they gone too far too fast? He wished he knew.


	9. The L Word

At about 4:30pm, Carl hopped on his bike and pedaled his way through the back entrance of the Gripling property. He climbed up the tree and waited for Blake to show up, his heart pounding with nervousness. He had never been so scared in his life. He sat himself on the sofa and leaned into his knees, keeping himself from shaking. He looked at his watch every few seconds, feeling as if time stood still but sure enough it was just ticking by really slow. This anticipation was killing him. Surely enough at exactly 5pm, Blake had climbed his way up and when he spotted Carl he just stood and stared at him like a deer caught in headlights.

"So… Blakey-boy… What's all this about exactly?" Carl said as he felt the tension in the room thicken with each second. Blake shifted his weight from one foot to the other, automatically sighing in response. Carl stood up and stared at him, moving closer to him. Blake quickly walked past him and headed for the mini fridge in the far corner at the other side of the room. This made Carl's blood boil in anger but he tried keeping calm.

"Ginger ale?" Blake asked quietly, holding a can out to him.

"What? No thanks, Blake. You need to tell me something so spit it out all ready." Carl growled in slight annoyance. Blake closed the fridge and bit his lip nervously as he walked towards Carl taking his hand, walking him to the sofa, and sitting him down next to him.

"Okay… Carl… I believe my sister knows.. about us…" Blake said not looking up at Carl, but down at his hands. The first thing Carl thought of was Ginger. What if Ginger had blabbed? Carl sighed somewhat relieved knowing what the problem is.

"Uh… Okay. What should we do?" Carl asked quietly. Blake looked up and let his eyes roam around the room looking for solutions. He sighed and Carl watched him pale up in a matter of seconds. He was probably thinking about the worst solution ever…

"We could break it off… for a while… Until Courtney has no interest." Blake said in a near whisper, Carl felt his heart drop. Blake looked at him and softened his expression immediately. "I just don't want this spreading like a wild fire, You know how my sister is. It's not forever… Carl?"

"I can't let that happen. You are jumping to the worst solution ever." Carl stated. "How about we just try to lay low for a month or two. We hang out with the company of Hoodsey. Never alone. I hate the thought of that but I am not going to let you go. And plus, Your sister should know what could happen to you and your family if she tells. I don't think she would want to give up everything again."

"Carl… It is for the best-" Carl started to panic.

"No, Blake. It's not. I can't- ILOVEYOU."

A moment later, He had just realized what he had blurted out. He instantly felt his body heat up and his heart pounding like crazy but he didn't feel sorry for what he had said. Blake was looking up at him with wide eyes, his cheeks turning red. "W-Wha-… C-Carl?"

He looked away from Blake and shifted uneasily in his seat. The tension in the room had broken but the silence was so loud. Carl didn't know how that had come up. He never knew he would be the first one to say the 'L' word. It just came out. Carl looked over at Blake and he was still red-faced but he had a small smile gracing his lips making his expression as soft as he ever seen it. He looked angelic. At this moment, He knew he wanted to keep him forever and protect him from everything. Blake eased his way closer to Carl as though he was trying not to startle him. He placed a hand on Carl's cheek and moved his face so he was looking directly at Blake's large crystal blue eyes.

"You mean that?" Blake asked his voice quivering ever so slightly. Carl gulped dryly and nodded placing his own hand on top of the hand on his face, moving it to his lips placing a light kiss on it not looking away from Blake's stare. "Say it again." Blake demanded. Carl looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes, feeling his heart pound as though it was trying to escape his chest. He opened his eyes and stared at Blake, whom was looking at him rather eagerly.

"I… Love you, Blake." Carl repeated softly in fear his voice would crack. Blake smirked and moved his hand down to the back of Carl's neck instantly crashing his lips against Carl's, making the most passionate kiss imaginable. Carl instinctively grabbed Blake by the waist, pulling him on top of him as he slid down further into the sofa. Carl bit down lightly on Blake's bottom lip making him whimper before grazing his tongue across it for entry. Blake let him in gladly without hesitation. Blake ran his hands through Carl's hair and giving it a slight tug in the back making Carl moan lightly. Blake released his lips as he trailed kisses down and across to Carl's neck, this was new. Carl caught his breath from the furiously passionate make out session, feeling Blake kiss and nibble on his neck. Carl blushed madly as he noticed how good it felt until he started to feel extremely light headed. He looked down at the passionate blonde still doing his work, He was sure he was going to be leaving with a mad hickey on his neck from him. Carl nudged his head towards Blake's making him cut contact, He placed a kiss on Blake's lips. Signifying that it was enough. Blake looked up at Carl and offered him a slightly guilty look.

"Sorry about that, Carl." Blake said as he cozied up to Carl's chest. "I got a little carried away."

"It's alright. Really. Just don't leave me, okay?" Carl said as he held Blake tightly.

"I won't… But I can confirm that this would most likely be our last meeting for a while." Blake said sadly.

"I can understand that." Carl sighed. "I'm not happy about it but I'll survive."

"My father started asking about girls." Blake said randomly after a few moments of silence. Carl chuckled a little.

"Parents do that." Carl stated. "It's normal."

"I might have to start dating them in high school to cover myself."

"Blakey. Don't worry about that stuff yet… We will cross that bridge when we get there."

"Okay… I just can't help but worry." Blake said looking up at Carl. The sun had started to set, making the room dim. Carl ran a hand through Blake's golden locks and he smiled down at him reassuringly. "Whenever we possibly do get there… I want you to have a girlfriend as well. Before I do."

Carl frowned at him but turned that into small smile in a second. "Whatever you say, Blakey-boy… Let it be." That seemed to calm Blake down because he didn't talk until Carl shifted underneath him.

"It's near curfew for you, Carl." Blake grumbled.

"I don't care." Carl stated. "If I get grounded then it would give me a reason to not surprise you with visits."

"Always so positive." Blake said as he lifted himself up off of him… Much to Carl's dismay. "But you shan't get in trouble. I don't like it."

"Yes sir…" Carl groaned sarcastically as he sat up in the sofa with Blake smirking at him. He stood up and stretched obviously stalling.

"Must I kick you out?" Blake warned, crossing his arms out in front of him in disapproval.

"Now Blake, ol' boy…. You wouldn't do that to _me_, would you?" Carl said in a false shocked tone. He was waiting for something to be said before he left. "Especially now, You wouldn't leave me hanging out to dry, Right?" Carl put an arm around Blake's shoulders. "I mean I_ did_ sort of spill my guts out here… and then some."

Blake answered with a bright pink blush as he realized what was going on. "Good night, Carl."

Carl frowned as he felt the burn of rejection hit him right in the face. That was cold… He _had_ to say it first. Now Blake had control over the relationship. Curse him… He left himself vulnerable. He wanted to be cold, so be it. "Just like that, huh?" Carl retracted his arm and walked to the exit as he felt anger enthrall him. "Fine… Later, Gripling…. _Much_." He didn't mean for that to sound bitter but it did. Reflecting how he felt. He climbed down the tree and ran off on his bike without a second look, pedaling as fast as he could. His eyes were burning as he slammed his bike down in the garage, running up to his room without saying anything to anyone, locking the door behind him... Did Blake not feel the same? Had he, Carl Foutley, Been made into an epic fool? He turned around to look at himself in his mirror. There… plain as day… Blake's purple love bite clashed against his tanned skin. He frowned at it. How the hell was he going to hide this?

* * *

Blake just stared at the exit of the treehouse as Carl had left. '_Later, Gripling… Much…_' Carl's clearly hurt voice echoed in the silence. What had he done? Did he just push Carl away in the worst way imaginable? Regret slowly poisoned his body. Why couldn't he just _say_ it? _Drat!_ He had waited for that opportunity for years and he just blindly shoved him off. He is such a fool… He just destroyed everything in a matter of seconds. He fell to his knees as his legs felt numb underneath him. He wanted to call Carl back but he had been long gone. He had to make it up to him… an envelope fell out of his jacket's pocket and onto the floor in front of him. He stared at it, remembering how he found it this morning. He was supposed to reply back. He picked it up and held it gently in his slightly shaking grip. He had to make it better. Without thinking, He picked himself up and ran into the house, straight to his room. A fire crackling in his fireplace had greeted him with comfortable warmth, but he failed to notice it. He was cold inside due to his past actions. He sat himself at his desk, laid out Carl's letter and pulled out a sheet of stationary. He instantly began writing furiously as if his life depended on it…

* * *

That morning, Carl hadn't slept. He just stared out his window. He was much too angry… too hurt… He got up, forced himself to take a shower and get ready for school before anyone was even up and ready. He wrapped his scarf around his neck before pulling on his jacket. He grabbed his backpack and stormed out towards school. He was determined to avoid Blake Gripling and see right past him during classes. He didn't exist. He walked into the school building and headed straight for the boy's bathroom where Hoodsey soon joined him.

"Hey Carl… Why'd you need this again?" Hoodsey said as he held out a white jar to him. His mother's concealer/ foundation make up. Just like he asked for the night before. Carl didn't say a word as he grabbed the jar from his best friend, taking off his scarf in the process revealing the bright purple mark right on his neck. Hoodsey's eyes grew wide.

"Whoa! Where did you get that?!" Hoodsey blurted out. Carl just glared over at him as if it was a stupid question. When Hoodsey realized the cause and his eyes to grow wide, dropping his jaw. "You didn't… Did you?"

Carl crinkled his nose in near disgust – not entirely true but the thought made his stomach churn, remembering the events that took place last night. "No. Of course not. Why would you just jump to that?" He continued to open and apply the make up to his neck. The spot was really sensitive, it almost made him wince. Hoodsey leaned against the sink and sighed in relief. Carl frowned at him while he dabbed the make up in attempt to blend it but it wasn't completely covered. He continued to dab on more.

"What's with the sour mood?" Hoodsey questioned calmly.

"…We had a fight." Carl said shortly.

"After that?" Hoodsey blurted out once again motioning to the mark.

"Whats with the fifty questions routine?" Carl snapped as he blended the make up once more, the hickey now covered.

"Sorry… Here…" Hoodsey pulled out a compact and dabbed the powder on top of the covered area. "You don't want it to come off."

"Thanks." Carl muttered. "Im sorry for snapping."

"No problem." Hoodsey said snapping the compact closed and shoved both items back in his backpack. "Once again… You're lucky my mom has the same skin tone as you… Lets get to class... I assume you don't wanna be near Blake."

"Affirmative… Lets go." Carl said picking up his stuff and they headed out of the restroom, straight to the classroom. He didn't need to go to his locker until after lunch. He and Hoodsey sat at the back of the room and pulled out magazines for the both of them to pass time until homeroom began. Blake sat at his usual seat up front where Carl and Hoodsey would be normally. Carl glared at the back of Blake's head when he wasn't staring at the same page of the magazine for twenty minutes already. When the first bell rang he rushed past Blake and went to his first class period. He tried to think about what he was going to do when lunch period came around. Just ignore him… That's the best he could think of so that's what he did. Hoodsey, Carl and Blake sat in their usual spot but it was awkwardly silent. Hoodsey did his best to start conversation. Blake gave one word answers and Carl grumbled as he pushed his corn around his tray or held a full conversation with Hoodsey totally bypassing Blake. Not once did he look at him. He didn't want to. Every time he did his stomach dropped like a rock. Carl had enough and decided to leave the table, not even clearing his tray. He just picked up his things and left the lunch room. He stomped off to his locker to grab his books for his next class. When he opened it he was staring a monogrammed envelope in the face, addressed to him. His heart jumped up to his throat as he instantly knew who had placed it there. He didn't want to touch it. He just sneered at it as he shoved it inside his book he slammed his locker shut and stormed off to class. Being the only person in the classroom, he stared at the text book in front of him, angrily tapping his pen on it. He fought with himself as he considered opening it but deciding against it as people started to file in. He spent the class period just staring at the book with the exception of answering questions in class. Ms. Zorski especially interested in him today. Low and behold - He was held back at the end of class. She looked up at him sympathetically.

"Is everything okay, Carl?" She asked softly. "You were quite distracted today."

"Yep, peachy." He said shortly. She softened her expression even more than usual. "I'm fine, Ms. Z. Just a bad day."

"Alright, I believe you." She said patting his shoulder. "If you ever need to talk to someone, My door is always open.

"Sure thing. See you tomorrow!" He said as he rushed out of the classroom to get to his last class for the day which passed by in no time. The envelope taunted him from his backpack as he tried to focus on his geography work. This is just madness… Why not just open it and read what it says? The contents might hurt him more. He frowned at the thought and mentally smacked himself for being such a wimp. This just sucked, big time. How could one person make Carl feel this bad? As the bell rang he met up with Hoodsey at his locker so they could walk home together. Hoodsey sighed loudly as he closed and locked the locker door.

"I had to comfort Blake when you left lunch period." He said as they walked down the hall. "I don't know what happened between you two but this has to stop sooner rather than later, Carl."

Carl rolled his eyes inwardly as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "It's not like I _enjoy_ this, Hoods…"

They exited the school and started heading toward Carl's house in silence. Hoodsey looked over at Carl as though he had something on the tip of his tongue he really wanted to say. Carl frowned at him as he kicked a stray rock with a great amount of force, making it airborne.

"What?" Carl spat out. Hoodsey crossed his arms out in front of him.

"It's just… Carl, I have never seen you like this before. I'm a little worried here." Hoodsey muttered. Carl now felt the need to explain the situation. Carl sighed and face-palmed himself.

"I know, Hoods." Carl muttered. "But I haven't exactly been hurt this bad before."

Hoodsey gave Carl a sympathetic look. Carl was starting to feel pity emit from him, making Carl feel a little sorry for Blake for some odd reason.

"Stop feeling bad, Hoods." Carl said suddenly. "It's throwing me off."

"Carl…" Hoodsey said softly. "You're already off for one… And _two_… If you're hurt then let's talk about it! You're my best friend… I don't like seeing you like this…"

"I get it." Carl said in a flat tone. They turned into Carl's property, entered the house, and headed straight for Carl's room. Once they were inside Carl locked the door and turned on the music just in case he had eavesdroppers. "I'll talk about it…"

Hoodsey sat down on his beanbag chair patiently. Carl ran through the situation in his head wondering where to start. "The main problem is I basically blurted out… my… uh.. love for him… accidentally… out of panic…" Hoodsey stared up at him with a shocked expression. Carl started to pace, he didn't want to look at Hoodsey, he didn't want to feel the sympathy. "After _this_ happened…" He motioned to his neck. "He basically shoved me away. I don't get it! Im not at all sorry for what I said but after what happened… I am starting to regret it. How did he get to be so good at being so… emotionless?"

"Well…" Hoodsey started slowly. "That doesn't seem like him… I always thought he would be the first to spill the beans…"

"No kidding… This is a huge mess… Why did I have to say it? Really!"

"Now, stop beating yourself up…" Hoodsey said as he watched Carl pace beside him. "He obviously feels bad about it, Carl…"

Carl snorted inwardly feeling another surge of bitterness course through his being.

"Im serious… He was almost in tears when you left lunch and I am pretty sure he spent the next period in the boys bathroom crying since he wasn't in class…"

"Honestly… He deserves to feel bad about it." Carl said bitterly. "You just don't _do_ that to a person you care about. He could have at least said _something_."

"I… agree. To an extent, He shouldn't have left you hanging like that." Hoodsey said as he played with his hoodie string. "But look at it from his point of view… Maybe he's just scared, Carl…"

"And I'm not?" Carl stopped in his tracks and sat on the floor. "Ugh! This is so hard, Hoods!"

"You both are on different levels. His is just a little more… _strict_."

Love sucks… Carl felt his eyes burn as he hid his head in his hands. He felt like he was at square one again. Lost and confused. Why was life so complicated?

"I would do anything to be a kid again…" Carl muttered as the CD finished, leaving the room silent. This was the exact thing he was afraid of in the first place before his birthday came around. For the first time since this situation happened, Tears were threatening to fall. Hoodsey saw this and just simply placed an arm around Carl, Doing his level best to comfort his best friend. Carl lost it after the first tear fell, sobbing silently. Pain wracked and rattled madly in his chest. This was long overdue.

"Let it out, brother…" Hoodsey muttered. "I gotcha…" Carl turned his head into Hoodsey's shoulder. He felt embarrassed but more upset then anything. How could this kind of pain exist? He mentally begged for it to stop. Rejection never took this kind of blow on Carl before but you could assume that being denied love was far worse than being denied a shrunken head or a complete larynx to keep his eyeball company…

"This just sucks…" Carl sniffed emptily as he calmed down. He was exhausted. The pain stayed steadily rattling through his body but his heart just pounded slowly in his chest. Hoodsey held out his water bottle but Carl shook his head. "Thanks, Hoods."

"Don't sweat it, Carl…" Hoodsey said in an understanding tone. "That's what best friends are for, right?"

Carl forced a smile towards him, Hoodsey clapped his hand on Carl's shoulder reassuringly.

"Don't give up right yet, Carl… It's not the end… He will come around."

Carl looked at him, brows furrowed. Not the end _yet_. Usually Hoodsey says to dump him. Carl seriously considered it too. '_I'll survive_.' He remembered saying again and again to keep Blake. It's true he will survive but if this type of situation becomes repetitive then he wouldn't be so sure about it.

"Sure hope so…" Carl muttered. "And soon." Hoodsey gave him a sheepish look.

"Don't feel bad for me, Hoods… I really don't want you to."

"I don't feel bad for you… I just hate that you're going through this…" Hoodsey said honestly. Just then there was a sudden car horn blaring outside the house, Hoodsey's face automatically fell.

"Hoodsey!" Lois called from the bottom of the staircase. Hoodsey looked at Carl, Carl just shook his head at him.

"It's fine, Hoods." Carl said. "I need some time alone anyway."

"Alright… If your sure…" Hoodsey said as he got up and grabbed his bag. The car horn blared once more. "Im just a call away, Carl."

"Thanks… Now get going before the police arrest your mom for disturbing the peace."

Hoodsey laughed and let himself out. Carl spread himself out on the floor of his bedroom, not having the energy to get up and lay on his bed. His mind was finally quiet. Such dramatics that can happen in a 24 hour time frame. No thank you. Carl wasn't even mad anymore… He wasn't anything… He felt nothing except slight contempt but with a moment's pass, that too fell out. He fell asleep like that, just totally emotionally drained. Only to be woken up with a few big bangs at his door. His head pounded painfully as he sat up, dazed. Eventually he got up, rubbing his eyes as he opened the door coming face to face with his mother.

"Sup, Momster?" He asked with a yawn.

"Dinner. Your favorite. We miss you at the dinner table, kiddo." Lois said with concern. Carl felt his stomach growl angrily in hunger.

"I'll be right down." Carl said.

"Are you doing okay?" Lois asked as he walked past her towards the bathroom.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Im just worried about ya." Lois said leaning against the wall. "Haven't seen you much at all these past few days. My mother intuition is nagging at me like crazy…"

"We will talk later, Lola." Carl said with a small smile. "Dinner time is now and im kinda starving. Im going to wash up then I will be right down."

"We'll be waiting." She said softly as she headed down the staircase. Carl's smile fell as he turned to go into the bathroom. He washed up and in a matter of seconds he slunk his way down the staircase where everyone was in the dining room conversing quietly. He stood at the bottom step as he listened into his family's conversation.

"I'm actually worried about him… Am I doing something wrong here?" Lois whispered in total concern. Carl got a weird feeling of guilt as he heard his mother say that.

"Mom, I don't think you should have anything to worry about. He_ is_ a teenager now." Ginger said optimistically. "Should I remind you how I was at thirteen?"

"I suppose it's okay…" Lois sighed. "Where is he? His plate is getting cold… CAR-"

Carl walked in right then with that same smile he gave his mom not too long ago, he sat down in the vacant spot at the table automatically attacking the food right in front of him. Everyone stared at him for a second before returning to their plates and conversation that wasn't about him. Carl didn't pay attention, he was way too hungry to talk. After He downed his second helping, he started to feel normal again.

"Wow…" Lois said after he had cleaned his plate. "I haven't seen you eat like that before… and that's saying something! You still up for dessert?"

"Lay it on me, Lola!" Carl said with a grateful smile. Lois smiled back and handed out the prepared slices of raspberry cheesecake. As dessert was being devoured he filled his family in on things that were going on in school (nothing too personal). He felt happy to be with his family after he had secluded himself from them for the past few days. He even laughed a little while washing the dishes with Dave. When every one had gone to bed he was in his room sitting at his desk and staring out the window. The half moon glowed down on him as he built up his thoughts once more, as he does.

Was he still depressed about the situation? He couldn't tell. Carl tried to think about Blake and everything that had gone on between them. He felt his stomach churned as he remembered how Blake shunned him... But he still had butterflies as he remembered the spark... That exciting chemistry was truly intoxicating as he pulled it from his memory. Carl smiled at it as he felt the giddy mood arise from not that long ago. Carl realized he really did love Blake Gripling... even if Blake refused to admit his feelings. Carl's face scrunched at that unappealing notion but then something nagged at his short term memory... The letter...


	10. Learn to Love Yourself

Carl took his english textbook out of his back pack and placed it in front of him on his desk. The cover was cracked open where the envelope was, It had to be at least three pages full of Blake's words. Weather they were apologetic or not was something Carl did not know. He could hope they were, right? He has that right... He has the right to torch the letter unopened but he had no need to do so anymore. He wanted nothing more then to hold Blake close to him and never let go weather he felt the same or not. He delicately took the letter out of the textbook and ran his finger over Carl's written name. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he mentally wished for it to be a good letter. If it wasn't then he wouldn't know what to do with himself...

He flipped it over and rested his hand over the loosely sealed envelope and ripped it open quickly as if it were a band aid. It was opened now, he had no reason not to read it. The expensive stationary peaked up at him as he stared down at it a little frightened... Carl knew he was definitely overreacting... He has been doing that a lot because of this boy... He gulped it down as he uncovered the symmetrically folded paper. Why did he have to be so perfect? Carl sighed and banged his head against his wooden desk. He was ready to read it but why is he stalling so MUCH? He was afraid to be hurt, he had to remind himself.

"Come on, Foutley..." He spoke to himself out loud. "It's not going to kill you... Just unfold it and read it!"

Shutting his eyes he unfolded the rather thick letter, not peaking until it was completely flat on the desk in front of him. Looking down at it he saw it was upside down and he grinned at himself before flipping it into the correct position and laying his eyes on the well written words before him...

_My Dearest Carl,_

_ I feel a bit embarrassed as I start this letter, because I am afraid you may interpret my words in a way they weren't meant to, different to what I really would like to express; so I beg of you to read it with a great deal of care and attention...I hope you can forgive me and I hope you'll read this letter till the end. I just want apologize, to say that I've made a big mistake pushing you away like I did. This is me, Blake Gripling, 'spilling my guts' out to you fully. No holding back. No hesitation. I want you to know this: I have nurtured this huge affection for you for a very long time now and my greatest happiness would be to share this feeling, this joy with you. I know you must be feeling a bit cross towards me and I can understand your reasons all too well. I know the extent of my mistake and I have even tried to put myself in your shoes, I understand the depressing and uneasy situation I've put you in, by being childish and insecure. But I have trust in your generous heart, I trust your pure soul and I sincerely hope that you give me another chance, one last chance for me to make you feel happy and very much loved because you truly are. I do love you, I was such a fool to not reciprocate. I spoke without thinking and I know that is no excuse as to how I acted. Forgive me._

_ Let me tell you about the first time I met you, You remember it right? I had just been promoted up to the second grade after my first week of school started. I had apparently been declared as 'advanced' by the school psychologist. I was playing with some action figures during recess... alone. Every one was talking about me and I was feeling embarrassed about it. I could hear their conversations. 'He is so young and short. How is he that smart to skip two grades?' 'He's just a kindergartener.' 'So this little shrimp is Courtney's brother?' … Gossip is a brutal thing. You were the first one to talk to me directly. You and Hoodsey were observing that eyeball of yours you found in the dump that summer. You just grossed everyone out bringing it for show and tell. I found it fascinating. You caught me staring at it. "Gripling... Right?" you asked. I nodded, you smiled. "Wanna help give this baby a name? It's about time to give it one." I felt accepted. I smiled and came over to your area. I looked over it, observing each characteristic. Until one name spoke to me, "Feldman. If you ask me." After looking at it for a few seconds you agreed. That was that. The bell rang and we went about our day. It wasn't until third grade we started feuding. I forget the argument that started it all. No clue at all as to what it was about but our acquaintanceship broke and deemed us sworn enemies... until this year, of course. I had admired you from the beginning. The humiliation and slight torture made no effect on that. No matter how I had acted._

_ You are this amazing and wonderful being and I suppose I sometimes feel undeserving of your presence, hence the reason I sometimes 'shove you off' as you would say. You have always intimidated me slightly because you are such a good person. Who am I to hold you? I am just an inferior preteen who spent most of his eleven and three-quarter years plotting against you and trying his hardest to make life as difficult for you as he could... I do trust you understand my motives for doing so... Revenge, yes but I just wanted you to accept me once more. Now you have for some unknown explanation. I suppose what I am trying to get at here is why do you love me, Carl? I don't mean to question you but more like try and understand what you see in me. You wouldn't know this but my perception of myself is not all that great. I do not see what I have to offer someone as brilliant as you. Especially since I have denied you my full attention all because of my family. It was unpleasant having to present those terms to you. You have a large heart and this is only crushing it, I can see it. That is why I jumped to ending things between us temporarily. You deserve to be loved unconditionally and yet you still chose me and my conditions. It makes me feel grateful and unworthy at the same time. This is everything I have wanted for years but I feel off sometimes. It's not what you want to hear but it's the truth. But as bad as my outlook of myself may be, I feel your kind spirit rub off on me... I am a better person with you around me. For once I like who I am ever since we started viewing each other in a friendlier light. I am learning how to love myself with you around. That is important, Very important indeed. Thank you for being around me, Carl._

_ With Love,_

_ Blake S. Gripling_

Carl read and reread the letter about six different times before he sighed of total relief. However, he did not know about how Blake viewed himself... but it's getting better, right? Carl sighed out loud as his head reeled back to life. This was a lot to take in all at once... Why would Blake question his feelings? Hadn't he made the reasons clear? To Carl, Blake was perfect. His imperfections made him even more perfect. Carl got up from his desk and plopped down onto his bed, suddenly feeling really tired.

He does sound depressed... This made Carl feel really bad about this whole thing. Maybe he needs some space to work on himself and get it together... This thought made Carl even sadder. How could you just digress into a friendship when you feel so strongly about them? It won't be forever but it seems like it would be the best thing to do, for Blake's sake. Never would he have thought about giving Blake up... but it was for his own good. Carl fell asleep with that thought, leading into situational dreams concerning the entire thing. When Carl woke up that morning, He was surprisingly calm but he felt a little sad because of what was to come. He had to find a way to get Blake alone today. They needed to talk about this and hopefully he would listen. He actually met up with Hoodsey this morning. As they walked side by side, Hoodsey could sense something off about Carl...

"Are you doing alright, Carl?" Hoodsey asked.

"Not exactly.. I'm better then I what I was.. but..." Carl paused trying to think of how to explain what has to be done. When he stopped talking Hoodsey was looking at him like he was waiting for a punchline to a joke.

"But what?" He asked after a few moments. Carl looked at him with a saddened but knowing expression. He didn't tell anyone about the letter. He totally forgot about it until last night.

"Blake wrote back yesterday..." Carl said quietly. Hoodsey shifted his backpack on his shoulder.

"...What did it say?"

"He loves me back..." Carl said with a small smile but it faded quickly. Hoodsey smiled at him, looking relieved.

"Thats good!" Hoodsey said. Carl shrugged uneasily and Hoodsey frowned a little. "Right? That's what you wanted?"

"Yeah... but he questioned me, asking me why I loved him... Then he proceeds to explain how he sees himself... I-I think he's depressed, Hoods."

Hoodsey frowned and looked down at the ground. Carl did the same thing, walking in silence for a moment. "What kind of things did he say about himself?"

Carl thought for a second, pulling bits and pieces of the letter from his memory. "He is inferior and undeserving... unworthy... he doesn't see what he has to offer since he has conditions to our relationship..."

"Um... Talk to him about it... If it seems like he is depressed, then maybe a relationship isn't something he needs right now... He needs a friend. He needs you but not _all_ of you." Hoodsey said in an uncertain tone. "He might need to work on loving himself before he can..."

"...Before he can love me..." Carl finished, feeling the sting of that sentence. Hoodsey patted his back in support before they continued to approach the school grounds a head of them.

"It's going to be okay, Carl... Whatever happens, We will still be friends with him and help him through whatever he is going through."

Carl looked at Hoodsey with an almost pained expression. "That is going to be near impossible... Do you know how hard it would be going from boyfriend to just friends? Especially when you truly feel things for that person?"

"No... but either way, He still needs you. A true friend and a positive person in his life." Hoodsey said as they approached the school stoop. Carl stopped as he saw the black limo coming towards them. Soon Blake stepped out and talked to Winston trough the open door. Carl sent Hoodsey inside the school. He just smiled at him reassuringly and disappeared into the crowd. When Winston drove off Carl nervously approached Blake just as he turned around to go inside. Blake frowned but looked Carl in the eyes.

"Good Morning, Carl." Blake muttered. Carl smiled a little at him.

"Morning, Blake.. Uh.. Can we talk?"

"Of course. But when? Lunch period?"

"I was thinking more of like right now." Carl said Blake looked at him, confused. The first bell rang and everyone filed inside the building. Carl placed a hand on Blake's shoulder and pushed him towards the opposite direction. Blake held himself back a bit.

"We have classes to go to, Carl!"

"This is a little bit more important." Carl said holding Blake's shoulders so he couldn't move from him. "Let's go to my house... Everyone is working, The house is empty for the day. We won't be alone for a long time and we need to talk A.S.A.P." Blake was silent but then looked around swiftly. He huffed and rolled his eyes, nodding in cooperation. Carl looked around to see if there was a teacher watching, seeing that there wasn't the pair took off towards Carl's house. When they were out of school grounds, They walked in silence side by side. Until Blake looked up at Carl and cleared his throat loudly.

"What's so important, Foutley?"

"Three things." Carl said sternly. "The situation, the letter, and... you... Most importantly, you."

Carl looked down at Blake who was avoiding his gaze and playing with the bottom of his jacket. "Why me?"

"Because I am concerned about some stuff, Blake..."

"There is nothing to be concerned about. I am perfectly fine."

"Right and I am the prince of monkeyland."

"And that doesn't surprise me one bit, your highness."

Carl rolled his eyes and grinned down at the rather tired looking blonde. He had bags under his eyes and he didn't have that rosy color in his cheeks like he normally did. He wasn't alright.

"Why would you lie to me when it is extremely clear that you are not fine." Carl said feeling a little bit of guilt brewing in his stomach. "You look sick actually... Have you not been sleeping well?"

"I haven't been sleeping at all, if you must know." Blake said. "I can't."

As they approached the Foutley household. All the cars were gone just as Carl said. Carl took his house key out of his pocket and unlocked the front door but immediately locking it behind him after the two of them entered in quickly. Now they were alone. Now they could talk.

"You can't sleep?" Carl asked as he took both of their bags and tossed them up the staircase. They sat down at the dinner table and Carl served some orange juice. Blake shook his head, looking uneasy.

"This whole thing has sort of messed up my nerves a bit. I can't relax."

"How do you feel about the situation?" Carl asked with concern. Blake sipped his orange juice and Carl spotted a pink tint grow on his cheeks.

"I-I... Carl, I am so very sorry about doing that to you... I truly did not intend to hurt you at all."

"You have been forgiven, Your letter was really sweet but I am concerned about you. You don't have good self-esteem." Carl stated. "You can talk to me, Blakey."

Blake sighed. "True, I do not have love for myself... at least not as much as I should."

"And I don't see why not... You... You are remarkable, Caring. You are totally different from what you were as a kid.. You amaze me and you don't have to try.."

Blake pursed his lips closed and diverted his gaze down at his glass. "Why?"

"Don't ask me..." Carl smirked. "You're the one doing it.." Blake glared at him as a red blush crept across his nose and cheeks, making Carl's smirk wider. Blake sniffed and blinked rapidly making Carl retract his smirk and took grasp of Blake's hand surprising him. "Don't cry.. Just tell me what's going on with you... Talking helps a lot!"

"Just... It's us! I love you... so much it hurts ...and it scares me... I sometimes don't understand why on earth you chose me? Me of all people, Carl! After what I had done to you in the past? I didn't know I would feel this way when I actually had you but I do! I don't deserve you.." Blake huffed, pulling his hand away from Carl's grip as tears scrolled down his pale cheeks. Something seemed off about what he just said. Carl raised an eyebrow at him.

"...Why do you sound... guilty?" Carl asked softly, his heart racing and his mind reeling. Blake stared over at him with wide eyes, unblinking and trembling.

"Because I am... I suppose. If that is what this feeling is. I have been absolutely haunted with this feeling for weeks now."

"I don't understand. What are you saying? Everything has been great up until a few days ago." Carl asked as he watched Blake play with his hands, clearly nervous. "I don't recall you doing anything so bad..."

"Because you didn't witness it but I did it none the less."

"Did what?" Carl questioned with a small laugh. "It can't have been that bad if I didn't know about it!" Blake just shook his head silently, Carl bit the inside of his cheek out of irritation but this needed to be done. They needed to get past this. "Just tell me, please... If it involves me, I. Want. To. Know." Carl said strictly. He was feeling a little scared, What was he asking for? Blake took in a deep breath.

"I-If you must know... Our last year of grade school... I-I was seeking revenge against you... Th-The opportunity presented itself when you were gambled off to that.. odd.. Polly girl..." Blake tried to explain. "S-so... I..um.. climbed a telephone pole and snapped photos of you enjoying yourself with Polly and presented them to Noelle explaining.. that you had essentially..erm.. chose...Polly over her... It was around the time you had showed up to school with that diamond ring on your finger..." Blake cleared his throat and looked away from Carl all together. Carl was a little confused but he could finally piece together the empty slots leading to the end of the first round of his relationship with Noelle. How did he know about Polly anyway?... Carl felt a little bit of anger lick at him but he cared for Blake Gripling more. Noelle had clearly gotten over the entire ordeal, Carl was aware of some of it given the cryptic, detail lacking explaination Noelle gave when she slipped into the house the night his mother got engaged.. Carl just reached out and grabbed Blake's hand. He looked at Carl with shock written all over his expression, Carl just smiled at him. "W-What... I don't understand..."

"Go on... I'm listening." Carl said softly.

"I-I Carl... I demolished your relationship with Noelle! I broke her down, you should be angry right now."

"I am... a little. I wont lie." Carl said with a shrug. "She didn't deserve it but truth be told, I don't like her any more..." Blake's trembling ceased. He hesitated but smiled over at Carl and held the hand on top of his. "Noelle and I have been done for ages.. I love _you_."

"I love you too..." Blake said softly, his voice trembling a little. Carl smiled, not paying attention to the hot blush creeping across his face.

"Is that all that's bothering you?" Carl asked. It seemed that it took forever to get that out of him. Blake shrugged in response.

"That would be most of it."

"Okay then, I gotta ask you something serious." Carl said matter of factly. Blake cocked his head to the side a little.

"Alright then. Ask away." Carl caressed Blake's hand slowly as he composed enough courage to ask. Blake just looked at him with raised eyebrows wadding in the anticipation. When Carl didn't say anything for a few moments Blake got a little antsy. "Um... Carl, The wait is sort of slaying me over here... No rush but.. Can you just verbalize what is on your mind?"

Carl smiled nervously and sighed. "Okay, Blake... Are you.. um.. have you felt sadder then usual about yourself recently... uh..Before I blurted out the 'L' word the other day..?" Blake frowned in thought for a moment. "Like.. have you felt depressed?"

"Not anything from the usual." Blake stated with a small shrug. "Happy about you, though I know deep down you are too good for me. I would assume that is kind of like being depressed."

Carl furrowed his eyebrows, The fact that he kept saying that he was too good was starting to annoy him. "Do you have anything you like about yourself at all?"

"Not necessarily, no." Blake said in a low tone of voice. "What are you getting at? …If I may ask." Carl felt a familiar pain in his chest as he thought about what he has to do. He has been thinking about it all morning. "Why do you have a rather pained expression on your face?"

"You don't love yourself at all?" Carl asked once more unbelieving. Blake looked at Carl, searching his face.

"To be honest, I was never taught how to do that... Unlike my sister, She loves herself way too much but she is like that naturally." Blake said with a small laugh. "I just simply do not know how to. I look at my faults and I attempt to improve upon them. Do understand that as a child I was criticized never praised... urged to do better, I might say."

"I praise you now." Carl stated quietly.

"I just simply see it as a compliment, which makes me happy. I'm accepted by you, that is all I desire."

Carl gave him a small smile. "I want you to actually learn to like yourself, Blake. You probably never thought you have a big heart but... You do and you have a lot of love inside of you waiting to come out..." Carl said his eyes not leaving Blake's gaze. "But in order for it to come out... you have to learn to love yourself... How can you love another without feeling love for yourself?"

Blake thought for yet another moment and eventually nodded and shrugged at the same time. "I suppose you have a valid point..." Blake slowly smirked at Carl. "Turning into quiet a Shakespeare in your words, kind sir... Rubbing off on you am I?"

"It would seem so." Carl answered with a small grin.

"How could one resist the charm in a lovers words?" Blake acted almost dramatically, placing a kiss on Carl's hand. Carl smirked to himself as he observed Blake. He seemed happy but it didn't match the situation, was he trying to deny it?

"But alas you are not hearing the words being spoken." Carl answered rolling his eyes. "How can one love another without loving themselves first?"

"Maybe it is something we could work on." Blake sighed going back to regular dialog. "It is important, yes?"

"Almost crucial." Carl said with a raised eyebrow. "It's very necessary for me, personally... And for good reason too."

"I agree... It will not be easy for me that is certain."

"It's okay... I will support you and so will Hoodsey. But there is one thing to it..." Carl hesitated. Blake looked at him questioningly. "Don't freak out... but in order for you to focus on yourself, we need to not be together..."

"Y-you – wait... You are... dumping me?" Blake sputtered, clearly taken aback. "W-we just made up! I don't understand..."

"It's not the end! No.. Just a break!"

"You said you love me, Carl..." Blake said taking his hand away from Carl's grasp once more.

"I do love you! I swear." Carl said freaking out a little, He knew he wouldn't be able to do this right. Blake is going to end up hating him... Great! Carl thought sarcastically. "It's necessary. It won't be forever.. As soon as you figure yourself out, We will be back together in no time, Blake. Promise!"

Blake crossed his arms tightly in front of him. "I just have to work on myself...?"

"Yes. I'm still yours." Carl sighed slightly. "I would never leave you without a good reason."

"I guess it would be a good thing... You need to get a girl to go out with you as soon as you can then since this obviously won't happen over night..."

Carl looked at Blake as though he had sprouted a second head. "Blake..."

"Im serious... I won't do anything but maybe go out with a girl to the movies or something to satisfy my father. You dating girls will keep you out of suspicion range with Courtney." Blake said thoughtfully. "Two birds one stone, yes?"

"I-I guess... But I do believe that won't really stop your sister. I am pretty sure she is familiar with the concept of 'beards'.. if she isn't then I am sure Miranda will be happy to fill her in." Carl explained. "That plan might just fall through. Just saying." He wasn't going to tell him that Ginger knows about him and his feelings. He would go into a riot for sure.

"Just go along with it then." Blake said airily.

"One of these days, you are going to have to actually talk to your parents about this." Carl said in a low voice.

"Eventually, I will. It's not like you came out to your parents yet."

"Correct, but I'm not exactly afraid to either." Carl said swiftly as he got up from his seat. "How about I fix us some lunch?"

Blake nodded. "I am quite famished... Excuse me but I am going to go use the rest room."

"Take your time, We can eat up in my room. We still can't leave the house for another three hours and I could use your help on our geometry assignment that is due tomorrow."

"All right. I shall meet you upstairs in your quarters." Blake said before leaving the room...

* * *

When Blake got to the bathroom he quickly locked himself in and sat down on the floor. What had just happened? This was so incredibly strange. Blake let his eyes wander around the clean room, Observing the surroundings. At least this isn't the worst thing that could happen. They would be back together in no time.

"Lets see... What are some of my good qualities..." Blake muttered to himself. "I am skilled in painting and writing. My last work of art really set my emotions into play. I am incredibly proud of that one... I didn't know it was possible for me to love someone like I do Carl..." Blake smiled as he thought about him. Those sharp, piercing green eyes never fail to look into his soul with just one glance, They were unbelievably captivating. Also, that devilish smirk of his made him weak every time he got caught in it. Carl Foutley has always been Blake's kryptonite , no matter how much he had denied it to himself in the past.. Carl. Foutley... Carl. Foutley... That name has been attached to him since his first memory. How hard will it be to hold back when they are together? It might be the hardest thing he has to do. It might also get awkward because of it but it won't be permanent. One thing was definite, It did not feel like Carl had broken up with him at all but to satisfy him, he gave Carl his word about working on himself for the mean time. Who knows, maybe he will learn a thing or two about himself in the process. He certainly hoped that would be the case. Blake just pushed the brake up away to the back of his mind, not wanting to be burdened with it right now. He thought back to the moment when his relationship had grown past a normal platonic friendship, what a surprise that was. He was well aware of his feelings toward the orange haired boy since the beginning of the sixth grade. He probably harbored those feelings well before then but that was when he definitely started to notice it. He remembered the confusing war that went on inside his mind as he watched Carl Foutley from afar, even sometimes avoiding him all together until Carl noticed and started picking on him even more until he got use to him once more. That was when they started arguing. Sometimes the arguments turned slightly physical. Those to which he lost all of the time since Carl was always taller and stronger then he. The many times Carl had pinned him to the ground tortured Blake inside and out since he was not yet accepting the fact that he had feelings for the older boy. At that time, He could not even process how he had developed said feelings for someone whom relentlessly tormented him through out his childhood.

Blake got up off the floor and turned on the faucet just in case Carl was outside the door. He looked at himself in the mirror. He examined his perfectly groomed hair. Ten minutes each morning. He had no need to get highlights put in his hair unlike his sister. He looked at his complexion, almost flawless. He learned how to use concealer properly for the little bit of acne that started showing up last month. He wondered if Carl struggled with acne yet. His large bright blue eyes were lined with long, straight lashes. He had grown a bit since the last time he noticed himself, But of course Carl was always maybe a few centimeters taller then him. He kept his slender figure precisely how he liked it, He had evened out nicely since he was a kid of seven years. He was growing to be a striking young man. "I might say, like what I see. This is a start." He stated proudly to himself. He never dissected his reflection up until now, he always looked at himself superficially whilst grooming himself for the day. He smiled to himself as he marked this as a start of his relationship with himself...

* * *

Carl sighed loudly, That was really close.. He almost lost him for good. Thankfully, It bounced back nicely. Carl got out some sandwich condiments and started forming chicken breast sandwiches, sliced diagonally with fruit salad on the side. He filled the tray completing it with two tall glasses of ice cold apple juice and carried it up the stairs into his room. Blake was still in the bathroom so Carl just spread his work out in front of him. He started eating his lunch as he looked over the paperwork. Blake eventually walked in, closing the door behind him. Carl smiled up at him before he sat down in the beanbag chair next to him.

"I was starting to think you snuck out the window or something." Carl laughed.

"I considered it." Blake said with a small grin. "But I just simply cannot leave you behind in geometry now can I?"

"I hope not! Especially since I made you lunch in return."

Blake released a small chuckle before picking up a half a sandwich. "Without further ado, How may I help you?"

Carl wasn't really having trouble but it was something to keep Blake around without it being weird. What to say? "Uhm... Surface area of rectangular prisms... The book work is filled with it and I just can't get it right."

Blake's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Carl slapped on a small smile. Surface area of anything was simple but it was the first thing that came to his mind. Carl mentally slapped himself up side the back of his head. Blake ran a hand through his blonde locks, Carl shifted uneasily trying not to stare. Was Blake doing that on purpose?

"Okay... Um. It's as simple as all the other surface area formulas. The only thing that is different is the number of sides. Rectangular prisms have two ends and four sides as you can see here in the book." Blake explained easily. "The opposite sides have the same area, so find that answer first; Length times Height times two sides... Then find the area of the adjacent sides..." Carl zoned out and let his mind wander since he knew all this already. He looked over at Blake who was doing an example problem, explanations just going in one ear out the other. He really didn't want to be deemed single. If it was appropriate, Carl would just kiss him right now. Blake was glowing right now whereas minutes ago he was gray with restlessness. Was Blake happy not being with Carl? No one can glow on command. He instantly pushed that thought out of his head. He might just be happy that Carl isn't ignoring him anymore.

"Carl?" Blake's voice impatiently pierced his thoughts. "I am asking you to try a problem like I showed you. Did you even listen to me?"

"I always listen to you." Carl said taking the notebook from Blake's hands. "Your voice has a sweet tone to it."

Blake rolled his eyes and handed him a pen. "Just do the problem, loverboy." Carl gave him a smirk before solving the problem, pretending to struggle a little but he solved it correctly. Blake looked over it, shrugged, and tossed the notebook down. "You got it... without flaw."

"Thank you for clearing it up for me." Carl smiled, Blake let out a small laugh before pulling out his own books. They worked silently for about twenty minutes, Carl completed his work load and Blake was reading his assigned chapters for his literature class, taking notes as he reads. Carl flipped through one of his text books without purpose. Sitting in silence was starting to feel irritating. Holding back was definitely not something Carl was use to doing now a days. He ached for the closeness the two of them had achieved seeing that it had to be cut short, leaving Carl feel rather empty and unsatisfied.

"Carl?" Blake asked in a cautious tone with widened eyes. "Whatever are you staring at?" Carl noticed his view was geared towards Blake's lower half of his face

"Nothing I was just.. thinking..." Carl smiled turning his attention to his text book noticing it was his history book. The class that barely gives out homework. He shut the book and closed his eyes.

"Are you doing alright? If you don't mind me asking, of course... You are looking rather blue."

"Nothing from what the situations would allow me, Gripling." Carl said.

"Well that's rather.. cryptic." Blake said putting his book down, searching Carl's face for any more tell-tale explanations. None was found. "Maybe you should be the one to start talking now? Since there is obviously something that is eating at you... rather painfully by the looks of it."

"It's nothing to be concerned about, I'm just adjusting my behavior."

"Oh?" Blake asked raising an eyebrow as he set his book and notes down on the floor beside him. "Why?"

"You do realize what had happened downstairs right?" Carl inquired seriously.

"Of course." Blake said amusingly rolling his eyes and simply waving his hand as though shooing the fact away as he said it. "We broke up! As a matter of speaking anyway. I am not daft, Carl."

"Are you trying to tease me?" Carl narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Blake.

"Oh I'm just making fun, Foutley." Blake smiled. "Lighten up a bit, will you?"

Carl threw a nearby pillow at Blake, hitting him in the face. "How's that for lightening up?"

"Swift thinking, Ol' Chap. But you made a grave mistake..." Blake said as he held the pillow in both of his hands.

"Oh yeah?" Carl questioned innocently. Blake looked at Carl with that smug expression of his, something Carl was use to seeing as a kid when the two of them exchanged insults day by day.

"Yes, you see... You seemed to have given me a weapon!" With that, Blake swiftly swung the pillow at Carl with much force whom had no more around him, Blake swung at him repeatedly as he retreated on his bed to get his other bigger pillow. Soon the pillow fight was in full swing until Carl had lunged over at Blake, pinning him on top of the long forgotten homework assignments hitting him in the face without protection since Carl had taken his weapon seconds ago before straddling him so he couldn't kick Carl off.

"Hey! Ow! TRUCE! TRUCE!" Blake yelled with each hit. "I SURRENDER! MERCY!"

Carl pinned him down even more by blocking his arm flailing movements with the pillow he was using. Carl just smiled down at him. "Mercy, huh? That word is no where in my vocabulary, Gripling. Carl Foutley doesn't show mercy to anyone. You should know by now!" Blake struggled against the pillow holding his arms in place with no use he gave up and glared up at Carl who loomed over him with a smirk plastered on his face. "That's right, You can't squirm your way out. Oh dear, what are you to do?"

"Truce?" Blake asked as he squirmed uneasily. Carl just looked down at him clearly amused.

"Hey, That sounds familiar." Carl teased. "We've been down the road of truce many a time, all of which deemed temporary since you keep attacking me."

"Correct but you always throw the first shot." Blake countered. Carl just chuckled as Blake tried to free himself to no avail. Something stirred in Carl that he hasn't felt in a few weeks.

"Struggle as you may, Blakesy." Carl growled into Blake's ear as he played with the boys hair. "There is no use, You can't get away without my consent."

"So you are just going to hold me here forever?" Blake asked in a smart tone trying his best to keep a smug look plastered on his face.

"If I feel like it..." Carl laughed.

"Oh Misery is mine..."

"Well if that's the case, I think I might!" Carl smirked, continuing to play with Blake's soft locks. He might as well since he has him in his control.

"Carl..." Blake whined quietly. The sound of Blake whining set a certain satisfaction in Carl, That usually meant he won. Blake huffed irritably in defeat.

"What is it?" Carl asked. "Feeling uncomfortable?"

"A bit." Blake admitted as his cheeks grew pinker and pinker with each second. Carl just smirked even more, if possible.

"That is kinda the point, Blakey-boy."

Blake muttered something under his breath which Carl couldn't hear but quickly replaced it with, "Please, Carl?"

"Oh what is this?" Carl asked in mock astonishment. "Blake Gripling begging for release."

"Yes, Carl. Now if you could be so kind... Please let up... You know sometimes I think you have a sadistic streak in you somewhere."

Carl just chuckled and shook his head at Blake's comment. "Only with you because you make it _so_ easy. Does that make you slightly masochistic as well, I wonder? ..Oh well.." Carl shrugged in amusement. "Why didn't you ask in the first place? That would have been much less humiliating for you." Carl took the pillow off Blake and threw it to the side the first thing Blake does is place his hands firmly on Carl's hips to prevent him from leaving for a millisecond before moving him off to the side and scooting a few feet away from where Carl was. "Blake?"

"Excuse that..." Blake said quickly looking almost shocked at himself. Carl understood that for the most part since Blake had never really been grabby before.

Carl laughed a little as he sat on his knees. "Then I guess I'm not the only one who needs to adjust their behavior." Carl scooted closer to Blake to move off of the paperwork that scattered the floor. Blake shrugged, embarrassed. Carl offered him a small smile. He found it satisfying that he wasn't the only one trying to contain his behavior. Blake placed a hand on Carl's which attracted Carl's attention. Quickly turning his head to face him, Blake slowly moved a piece of Carl's hair out of his face offering him a soft smile. At that moment, Carl practically melted inside. This was impossible. How can he push him away from what is comfortable for them? Carl found himself moving closer to Blake's face as though it was some kind of magnet. Without stopping himself, he placed a light kiss on Blake's warm lips. Fulfilling what he has been wanting to do for the past hour. He couldn't find the will power to move away as his heart pounded against his chest. Carl laced his fingers with Blake's. This was so unfair, He was only hurting himself with this because after they pull away he is going to have to start again on pushing Blake away which he really didn't want to, He was happy. He was supposed to distance himself from Blake for Blake's own good. It was just too impossible. Blake snaked his free hand around Carl's neck, pulling him closer but Carl pushed against it breaking from the kiss. Blake looked at him with an almost guilty expression. Carl's emotions clawed at him as he pulled his hand away from Blake's. He really wanted to stay that way and be happy but he couldn't. At that moment, he felt... scattered.

"I'm sorry." Carl croaked when he found his voice, Blake bit his lip momentarily but then quickly smiled at Carl.

"No, That was completely my fault." Blake said nervously. "I didn't pay attention where I put my hand, I didn't exactly stop either..."

Carl shrugged as he moved away to collect the papers from the floor, The door suddenly opened revealing a rather passive looking Hoodsey, who had two manila folders in his arms. Carl nearly had a heart attack then and there.

"Homework delivery." Hoodsey stated as he dropped the folders down at the doorway before entering the room. "You didn't miss much. So whats up?"

Carl picked up the folders and closed the door. "Nothing, Just did what I needed to do..."

"Everything okay?" Hoodsey asked as he sat in the beanbag across from Blake.

"Everything will be okay." Blake said as he took his folder from Carl. "But we are broken up for now."

That nearly killed Carl hearing that, For some reason he didn't believe that would be the case especially from what had just happened a minute ago. Then something popped up in his mind... _Friends with benefits_... Carl grimaced at himself for a second. That thought made him feel uncertain. That wouldn't change anything...

"Wow... " Hoodsey muttered. "A-are you okay?" Blake just simply smiled and nodded. Hoodsey looked at Carl and shrugged. If Hoodsey would have walked in a few seconds earlier he definitely wouldn't have believed it for a second. Blake smiled over at him and Carl smiled back as he gathered the papers that were still scattered around the floor. Hoodsey got up and placed a CD in the stereo system, the silence was probably too much. He couldn't blame him, Carl was also feeling the pressure from the sudden silence. He felt confused if anything. That was definitely the word of the year... Confusion...

"We should go to my place." Blake announced out of the blue.

"Why?" Hoodsey and Carl asked in unison.

"One: Change of scenery.. And Two: Father has been picking at me everyday to bring you two over. He wants to meet you. So since I am growing tired of hearing it day in and day out we should move this little get together to my quarters." Blake said literally counting on his fingers. "Excuse me, Gents." He got up and left the room.

"Totally random." Hoodsey stated as the door closed. "I wish you told me you were playing hookey. You haven't ditched since.. elementary school! What happened to turning over a new leaf, Carl?"

"I didn't know what I was doing until I started talking to him." Carl shrugged. "It was the best way to get him alone to talk as much as we did."

"You really broke up with him?" Hoodsey asked not believing it. "He seems happy... or something. Not like someone who just got dumped."

"Yeah." Carl muttered. "I let him down as easily as I could. I told him that he needed to work on himself before being with me... But this mood he is in right now... Has me just as stumped as you."

"Was he depressed?" Hoodsey asked.

"I'm not sure... It seemed like it but he acted like it was normal. He described it so easily."

"That's conflicting." Hoodsey said. "...I ran into Macie today after school got out."

"How was it? What did you say?" Carl asked in a hushed tone.

"I just said Hi... I was too nervous to talk much. She is so pretty, Carl..." Hoodsey said with a sigh. Carl smiled and cringed a little at the fact he could feel the mush ooze out of Hoodsey's words. "She asked me about the Christmas party. If I was going, you know. I said yeah, of course... But I didn't have the nerve to ask her to go with me... Well after that she just smiled at me and said she would see me there."

"You're getting there." Carl said encouragingly. "At least you know you can somewhat talk to her outside of your disguise."

Hoodsey smiled. "She is so pretty..."

"...You just said that..." Carl laughed. "But that's okay, Hoods."

"Sorry, I just can't get over it."

"You are purely smitten, My friend." Carl said as he shoved the papers into his binders, putting them in his back pack. Hoodsey just nodded with a wide grin. Blake walked back in putting his cell phone in his pocket.

"Winston will arrive in approximately five minutes." Blake said as he gathered the pile of papers Carl stacked for him. Looking through them, He hummed softly with each flip of a page. Blake did seem pretty happy given the current circumstances. After everything was accounted for, he put the papers in his backpack. Carl was almost bothered by how happy he was when Carl was having a hard time with everything. If only he could peer into Blake's mind to see what he is thinking about. That would make things a little more understandable. Carl pushed his backpack away from him not wanting anything else to do with it. He wondered how long it would take for Blake to get himself straightened out. Patience.. That was something Carl was just going to have to get use to since that's all that life keeps on handing him. Why was his confidence being wavered? Carl sighed to himself before Blake's cell phone rang which he quickly answered.

"Yes?" Blake asked into the phone. "Of course... We shall be right down momentarily.. Yes I know..." Blake sighed and rolled his eyes to himself. "...We shall talk about it later, Winston... Yes I know you worry but now is not the time.. Sounds good to me. See you in a moment, Thank you!" Blake loudly clapped the phone shut as he sighed in an irritated manner, grabbing his bag. "Well then, Winston is outside waiting." Hoodsey and Blake followed Carl out the house before locking it up. Winston was of course waiting with the door open smiling at the trio as they entered the backseat. Seconds after the door closed, they were off towards the Gripling household.


	11. No More Mr Nice-Foutley

The ride was quiet. Carl and Blake exchanged looks every now and then leaving Hoodsey on the side just gazing out the window. Hoodsey was in his own world thinking about his latest conversation with Ms. Lightfoot, no doubt. Carl was at war with himself about what had happened before his best friend's sudden arrival, and Blake was making a mental note about how he could transfer his most recent feelings onto an empty canvas that was waiting for him in his tree house. Carl was the first to break the silence by clearing his throat half way to their destination. Blake gave him a small smile, the same one he offered Carl a moment before the kiss that made him a wreck in the first place. Carl thought for a few seconds and shot him a smirk, making Blake flush a delicate pink almost instantly. Carl took a little pride in that at least. Why he enjoyed making Blake feel a little uncomfortable was unknown to Carl. He just did since he blushes so easily around him. It has always been that way between them. It was sort of like a favorite past time of his but now he could even enjoy the fact that seeing Blake slightly embarrassed was kind of adorable and Carl Foutley doesn't usually use that word lightly. He gazed out the window and frowned a little at himself. As usual his mind was racing a hundred miles per second and he couldn't stop it even if he tried. Sure he put this on himself but it was against his will. It was the only way to help Blake understand himself and have him feel comfortable in his own skin. It's not like he wanted to put a screeching halt on their relationship. He was quite content in it once they got past the little problem for all of three seconds.

When they finally arrived, Blake quickly let his two friends into the house, halting one of the staff members to go retrieve his father so he could get the introductions out of the way right quick so they could continue hanging out. In a matter of two minutes, A tall, dark-haired man strolled into the foyer with a small smile directed towards Blake.

"Ah, Father." Blake greeted. "How are you doing today?"

"I am doing very well, son." Mr. Gripling said before glancing happily at the pair behind Blake. "Who are these fine gentlemen?"

"These are my friends, Father." Blake said turning around to face them. Carl and Hoodsey smiled at the poised adult before them. "Allow me to introduce you... This here is Carl Foutley..." Blake said directing a hand towards Carl's direction momentarily before directing it towards Hoodsey. "And this is Robert Bishop."

"Very nice to finally meet your acquaintance, Mr. Gripling." Carl said holding a hand out politely.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Gripling." Hoodsey said awkwardly.

"The pleasure is mine, Boys. Please call me Prescott, Mr. Gripling is my Father." Prescott said with a low chuckle before firmly shaking Carl's outstretched hand. Blake rolled his eyes at his father's joke as he stood behind him, hands behind his back. "It is very nice to finally meet Blake's friends as I have heard so much about you both."

"We can say the same, Sir." Hoodsey said politely before shaking his hand as well.

"I won't keep you boys away from your socializing activities." Prescott said stepping to the side with a pleasant smile. "I would like to extend an invitation to dinner however."

"That would be great, Prescott. Thank you!" Carl said happily, He never had dinner at the Griplings before.

"Thank you!" Hoodsey echoed.

"No problem at all, Boys. We shall call you down when he meal is expected to be dispersed. Casual attire, of course."

"Thank you, Father." Blake said dismissively before heading up the staircase with Carl and Hoodsey following him closely. As they turned down the second floor corridor, Courtney's high pitched giggle could be heard beyond her closed bedroom door. She was probably on the phone since no secondary voices could be heard. As they walked into Blake's room, A warm fire greeted them. As Carl sprawled out on the sofa with his eyes closed, He silently took in the warmth as if it solved all his problems. His mind was empty. He cared about nothing. Blake sat on his large bed watching Carl as if he had morphed into the wallpaper, not noticed. He was reminded of the many times Carl was in his room in that same spot. He felt his face grow warm at the memories, which he pushed to the back of his mind before turning his attention on his other friend, Hoodsey, who was in front of the fireplace looking at the model boats on display on the mantel.

"You know what I have always wanted to ask?" Hoodsey said breaking the silence. He looked at Blake who shrugged, half paying attention. "How many model boats do you have? I see them everywhere."

"Let's see here... I believe I have about.. twenty model boats, give or take a few." Blake answered slowly as he pondered. "I am currently working on a few more in my tree house."

Hoodsey let out a descending whistle at the information. "I knew you had a lot but twenty? Wow."

"Yeah, I know.. I do have a lot of time on my hands. I got to do something with it."

"It's a good hobby." Carl said easily.

"Your dad is really nice, Blake." Hoodsey said as he sat down on the floor in front of the fire. Blake just let out a meaningless 'mm-hmm' in response. Nice was hardly the case but he didn't expect even his best friends to understand. Sure he liked his father well enough but he can't really say that he loves him or anything. Blake looked back into his short childhood for a moment... Blake couldn't really remember his father doing anything with him except for summer trips when he was able to. He was always just a speaker phone to him since that was his daily contact during dinner at the times he was away. Blake always had Winston to look after him like a father figure. He couldn't really recognize his face up until two years before the arrest was made, when he was given a framed photo of his parents actually together. All he knew was his father had high standards for him if he was going to 'follow in his footsteps' as he jokingly put it. It wasn't until last month his father showed any kind of interest in his life at all...

While Blake was in his own world, Carl noticed the instant silence and he dared to glance over at the boy a few feet away from him. He looked awfully pensive. Just staring at a particular spot on the carpeted floor. After a while, he exchanged questioning looks with Hoodsey before trying to get his attention back to the present.

"Hey Blake." Carl said with no reaction from the silent blonde, He got up from his comfortable position and walked over to him. "Blaaaake... Woohoo, Earth to Gripling!" He waved a hand in front of Blake's line of vision. Blake got startled alright, He even let out a surprised gasp before glaring up at the source of this distraction.

"Honestly, Carl, that wasn't at all necessary..." Blake said as he straightened himself up. Carl rolled his eyes at him with a chuckle before sitting on the couch where he originally was. Blake played with the hem of his black turtleneck trying not to go back to his thought process. He never zoned out that bad before. Especially if he had company. How odd of him..

"Well you never check out like that before." Carl shrugged. "What's eatin ya anyway? You were more than fine before we came over but now you're all quiet."

"Does something _have_ to be on my mind when I zone out like you do every so often?" Blake retorted as he rolled his eyes. Carl and Hoodsey exchanged looks once more before saying in unison, "Duh-_uh_!" Blake just frowned at his two friends.

"That's a tell-tale sign that you are obviously distracted by something!" Carl said matter of factually.

"That's why Carl zones out all the time. He is always distracted by something." Hoodsey added.

"Well I am not thinking about anything in particular." Blake huffed before standing up and walking over to his closet. "Let's play a game." He opened his closet door and shifted through all the board games on the top shelf. "How does... a rousing game of Monopoly sound, Gents?"

"Nah, Carl goes agro really easily with that game.." Hoodsey noted. Carl just shrugged.

"Hmm.. Well then.. How about Yahtzee? It is just a game with dice after all."

"Fine with me." Carl said in an aloof tone. Blake glared at his sudden coldness. He hasn't been this way since before the signing. Suppose he is back to his old self then. Blake mentally hardened his composure as he pulled the game box out and started setting it up on the coffee table. After about an hour passed, Blake and Carl were tied both had won two games each. Hoodsey took himself out of the game cycle just as he looked at his watch. He shook his head at the two in front of him as they flung around their normal game talk as Carl set up for another round, Winner takes all. In the middle of the game, There was a sudden buzz ringing through the room. Blake sighed and went over the intercom on the wall. He pressed a button, "Yes?"

"Please Excuse the interruption, Master Blake. But I was told to inform you that dinner is to be ready shortly." a female voice rang and echoed the room.

"Thank you very much for notifying me, Carmen. We will be down in a minute." Blake said dismissively.

"Certainly, Sir." The voice said before the intercom clicked off.

"I suppose this game is to be continued after dinner." Blake announced.

"Right you are, Blakey-boy. Count on losing." Carl said as he stood up and stretched out.

"I most certainly won't, Foutley." Blake said as he opened the door, leading the way to the staircase down the corridor.

"Ugh, Dinner! Finally!" Hoodsey said happily. "Great, I'm starving!"

The trio walked down the staircase and took a left turn into another room away from the foyer. This room had a giant oak table with matching chairs all around it. The entire Gripling family were seated and chatting amongst themselves. Courtney smiled pleasantly as Blake and his friends sat themselves at the table.

"Well now, Blake, You're not the one to usually have guests." Courtney said lightly with a small tinkling laugh. Blake rolled his eyes in dismay. "Why, Your Ginger's little brother are you not? I have seen you around Ginger's house before."

"I am and I do in fact live there with Ginger, Courtney." Carl said politely as he folded his hands out in front of him. "This here is Hoodsey. Also known as Robert Joseph."

"Ah, yes the hooded one that also hangs around the Foutley household." Courtney said with an oblivious smile. "Well It's nice to meet you. Officially, of course." Courtney winked over at Carl accompanied by that light laugh again. Carl just raised an eyebrow at her.

"Do you by any chance have something in your eye?" Carl asked with false interest. Courtney laughed once more at the question.

"Oh you _are_ funny!" She said. "Well done, Blake. I like him and I approve!"

"It's nice to know that I have your approval of my friends, Courtney." Blake muttered blandly.

"Uh, Uh. Blake." His Mother said loudly. "You know we don't mutter. We Griplings say what we feel or nothing at all! Muttering is so... common and uncharacteristic."

"I am sorry, Muma." Blake said loudly. Hoodsey let out a quick snicker before getting elbowed by Carl. Blake shot Hoodsey a quick glare before straightening himself out again.

"It's quite alright, dear. No need to apologize, Just remember: _Speak_, Don't grumble or mutter or anything of that sort. You have a beautiful voice, Blake. Let it be heard."

"Your mother Is quite right, Son." His father added full-heartedly. Blake gave a small false smile to both his parents before lifting his gaze towards the high ceiling, his face almost saying 'why me?'. Carl tried to pretended not to hear any of that conversation.

"Now Carl, Please tell me your planning on doing something with that hair of yours." Courtney stated politely. Carl shifted his gaze back and fourth before looking at her straight in the eyes, She was serious. He wanted nothing more then to laugh at her but he held it back.

"I don't understand what your talking about." Carl said lightly with a fit of laughter residing in the back of his throat.

"Oh If you are, in fact, going to be with my broth-"

"Courtney!" Blake interrupted loudly.

"I'm just saying! Your going to have to do something with that hair. I'm thinking Highlights not too heavy, Dark red. Yes that would do wonderfully. Maybe some layers." She finished, eying his hair from across the table. "Do you have any hobbies, Carl?"

"Uh.. So Blake, How about that essay on Hamlet, huh?" Carl asked lightly trying to change the subject. Blake was trying to hide his face with his hand.

"Yes Hamlet.. Rather interesting, _indeed._" Blake said nicely even though he had an almost crazed expression on his face. Hoodsey was just watching the whole scene happen before him like a comedy show on TV.

"Oh _Hamlet_, That's rather exciting, I'll say!" Prescott piped up. "That would be one of my _personal_ favorites. Would you by any chance need any help on that essay, son?"

"No, Father. It's all finished. Thank you for the offer anyway." Blake said politely.

"Any time, Any time." Prescott said nicely. Blake was certain that Carl was uncomfortable especially with Courtney's interrogation. Hoodsey was just amused at the sight in front of him.

"Please do tell me about your self!" Courtney said to Carl as the food came out of the kitchen. "I am especially interested in you."

"Um.. Classified, Im afraid." Carl said as a plate full of hot, steaming food was set in front of him.

"Ooh, Secretive... I like!" Courtney said in pure interest. "Very mysterious. You know, You don't see that around here at all. How.. not boring! I like very much..."

"Thanks..?" Carl said as he dug into his meal.

"OooH Blake! How is it that I only get the boring guys!? It's like _Hello_! Your predictability is down right killing me! Do something! What is it about this town that makes everyone so _boring_?"

"And I care, why?" Blake said idly.

"Just so you know. Im so jealous.." She said obviously not hearing Blake at all. Carl felt a rush of heat make it's way to his face in near embarrassment. No wonder why Blake thinks she knows about Carl. Because she actually does. How does his parents not see this? Blake just silently shook his head at his plate as he politely ate his meal. "I now understand why you are such a hot ticket around your school, Carl. Every time I pass the junior high, I hear your name come up a lot." Carl just arched an eyebrow at that sliver of information. He didn't understand what she was talking about. Unless she was talking about the one group of girls that hang around the flag pole in the afternoons. They were crazy about him for some unknown reason. Not that he was going to complain. At least they weren't shoving him into janitor closets. Just leave them alone and they leave you alone.. for the most part. Blake loosened up a little after everyone had fallen quiet as they finished their meals. Once dessert came along, every one chatted happily about nonsense things like current events and Paris. Courtney lost interest in Carl for a little while and before she could talk to him once more, Blake pulled him and Hoodsey back upstairs to finish their game. He had to wiggle out of family quiet time in the library in order to do it but he succeeded none the less. He sighed of relief when the door was closed.

"Well dinner was interesting, Blake." Hoodsey said with a small smile.

"How do your parents not catch on what your sister is saying?" Carl asked.

"Oh they are completely oblivious when it comes to their children." Blake said with a wave of his hand.

"Your sister is a total riot, Im not going to lie." Carl said with a quick nervous laugh. "I had to stop myself from laughing at her sometimes.. And what is wrong with my hair? It suits me perfectly fine."

Hoodsey laughed and Blake just shook his head. "I was sure you would have gotten scared off with her questioning. I told you, she knows. I don't know how but she does."

"I don't get scared off easily. You know that. She is just blunt and it is hilarious, by the way." Carl said as he took his seat on the couch. "Let's finish this game before we have to leave. I have a craving to whoop your butt in Yahtzee, Gripling."

"I will make you eat those words, Foutley." Blake said haughtily as he took his turn with the dice.

"Bring it on." Carl countered as the dice flew out of the cup and on to the table.

The game persisted on excitedly for the last half hour until at the end of the last round, they counted up their scores and observed them side by side. "Ha! And may I add Ha! Foutley. I win. Naturally, of course."

"Whatever, Gripling. Enjoy it because I call a replay this weekend." Carl said as he stood up and walked to the door.

"Alright, That is fine with me. I don't mind embarrassing you once more. What game do you have in mind?"

Carl thought for a second, If he is picking the game then he will pick the one he rules at. "Video game, Corrupt Battle Group two. My house. Saturday. Bring your notebook and pencil, Gripling, because I'm going to school you so hard." Carl taunted before letting himself out of his room with Hoodsey right behind him. Blake huffed as the door closed behind the two of them, leaving him alone in his room.

"Yeah well, Good night to you too." Blake said to himself sarcastically. Carl seemed to definitely gone back to his old self again.

* * *

Carl and Hoodsey walked off side by side with the sun almost completely set. They were quiet because nothing was really needed to be said. Carl just shoved his hands into his pockets and looked a head.

"I know this break up thing isn't ideal, Carl. But just tough it out for the time being. Maybe you could work on some issues as well." Hoodsey said out of the blue.

"I like myself enough. I take pride in myself. What do you think I need work on?" Carl asked.

"I think you need to just do some soul searching, you know. You can't know everything about yourself yet. Your just figuring out who you are." Hoodsey said simply.

"I suppose I could.. no harm in it I guess.. I do need a hobby or something to take my mind off this. I think im taking it a little harder then he is. What do you think? I just feel so scrambled and out of order."

"I think... Everyone has their own way of handling these types of things. His is just.. odd.."

They quickly came up to the Foutley household. "See you tomorrow, Carl. I gotta head home before my mom sends a search party."

"Later. And thanks for the advice, Hoods." Carl said before turning into his property. He entered his house and sat himself in the living room where Ginger was reading alone.

"Hey where's Momster and Dave?" Carl asked. Ginger looked up from her studies and gave him a small smile.

"It's date night apparently." Ginger answered. "Where have you been all day?"

"Gripling's. I met his father. The infamous Prescott Gripling."

"Wow.. That's.. uh.. definitely taking a dive there." Ginger said clearly confused.

"Nope. Just a friend meeting another friend's parents. Totally. Platonic. Yep."

Ginger dropped her jaw slightly in shock. "Is.. Is everything okay?"

"No not really. We are back to being just friends. He has some stuff to take care of before continuing." Carl said easily. "Did you by any chance mention any of this to Courtney?"

"Um No, I don't have any reason to do that. Why?"

"Courtney likes me. I'm funny. And Blake did well getting me apparently." Carl smiled in amusement as he remembered the bizarre dinner he had just survived. "I'm _mysterious _AND I have the Courtney Gripling gold seal of approval."

Ginger laughed, "She said that? In front of her parents?"

"Yeah, its funny. They were totally non existent unless they either can relate to the topic or they see something they need to correct. They didn't notice anything. The dinner was total madness. I thought Blake was going to actually strangle his sister because she wouldn't shut up."

"Wow. Just wow." Ginger said shaking her head at the explanation.

"My thoughts exactly." Carl said as he stood up. "I'm turning in for the night."

"Okay, Just if you need to talk... I'm always here." Ginger said as he turned away towards the staircase.

"Thanks, Sis." He called as he climbed the stairs quickly. He turned towards his bedroom and locked himself in. He plopped face down on his bed right away. He mentally killed all the feelings of being lost and confused. It was just a slip up and It won't happen again. He was going to make sure of it. He wasn't going to let this get to him at all. From now on, he was good old Carl Foutley...


	12. Landslide

**A/N: I am extending this into a sequel once this story has run out, I am getting a ton of ideas for this. If you are a fan of this story keep your eyes peeled for the squeal! XoXo**

* * *

Blake has been laying on top of his bed, starring at the ceiling for almost an hour now. It's been two since Carl and Hoodsey took their abrupt leave. He felt oddly depressed about the entire thing. Had the fact actually caught up with him? He was afraid so. He wished he was still riding the high from that kiss, that instant slip up that happened earlier. It almost numbed him and made the entire depressing event almost like it never happened. Blake sighed and slid himself off the bed and onto the floor, sitting against his bed frame. He curled his legs up to his chest and rested his chin on his knees. How can one go from being completely happy to deeply depressed in a matter of days?

There was a soft knock on his door, making him sigh in frustration. When he actually wanted to be alone, he couldn't have it.. No, heaven forbid him to have time to think.

"Away with you, Whoever you are." Blake said sternly but against his wishes, the door opened anyway revealing a slightly concerned looking Courtney Gripling. Blake looked at her feeling fury build up inside him. She was the last person he wanted to see. "Do you not understand what '_go away_' means?"

"Oh I do." She said brightly, letting herself in and closing the door behind her. "But you don't need to be alone. I have an odd feeling that you need to talk to someone. I feel I should be that someone."

"I need no such thing." Blake replied as she sat herself easily on his nicely made bed, beside Blake. "Why is everyone so interested in me now? I demand to be left alone, I say!"

"Oh hush. No need to get your hair all in a knot. Now tell sissy what is wrong." She demanded softly, placing a freshly manicured hand on his shoulder. Blake just glared up at her from the floor. "Is it that Carl character?"

Blake huffed loudly at the question. "Stop asking about him! Or me! It is none of your concern."

She cocked her head to the side, gazing down at him. "Of course it's within my concerns. You are my baby brother. I worry. Especially if you are as distressed as you seem."

"Why are you so set in the silly thought that Carl and I .. are.. well .. _Together_?" Blake asked suddenly and uneasily. Courtney just smiled down at him before getting up and sitting down on the floor next to him.

"That's a silly question to ask." She started lightly as she tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her left ear. "It's because you, in fact, are together.. are you not?"

Blake thought for a second feeling his heart take a deep plunge into nothingness. "No. We are not. How did you come up with such a thing?"

Courtney's eyes grew sad, genuinely. "The answer is so very simple... I know the way you look at him, I know that look very well.. And you have been so happy this past month or so, and I know it's not because Papa is home. Call it sister's intuition. It was very nice to see for once... What happened, Blake?"

Blake furrowed his eyebrows at her. Was she telling the truth? She _is_ notorious for lying.. He decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. "I have some self esteem issues to work on before we can be together once more.." He muttered.

Courtney's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Oh dear, is that all?.. Well I could help you with that. I never knew you had low self esteem, Blake."

"I regret to inform you that you don't really know much about me any way, Courtney." Blake said numbly. Courtney just rolled her eyes at him.

"Oh I am so used to you saying that. It doesn't even hurt anymore." She said in a smart tone. "I'll help you... But you must actually work on it and do what I say." Blake cringed slightly at that thought. She might make him a slave like she did when he was between the ages of five and seven years. When Courtney usually tells you to do what she says that's usually the case. "Oh come now, It won't be anything bad. The first thing you should do is grab a notebook and list the things you like about yourself... Like for example, I like my flowing, glossy hair.., My flawless complexion, and my canny ability to read people like open books... You just focus on that for a week or so and report back once you have it all figured out. It would be a good start."

Courtney seemed to have gotten better with her advice through the past year or so. That wasn't such a bad idea. Blake eased up a little. "Okay.. I suppose I could.."

"Good!" she exclaimed excitedly. "I look forward to this. I think it would be a good start to bonding like actual siblings do! I am so excited, you don't even know."

"You.. are correct. I don't..." Blake said indefinitely. "...You're not going to bring this little fact to our parents attention, are you?"

"I would never do such a thing to you, It's not like you can control that type of thing." Courtney said seriously.

"Okay.. That's definitely relieving to know.." Blake sighed easily.

"Blake, It is up to you when or if you tell Muma and Papa about.. this.. I can however, provide support for you when you need it.. I am your older sister, I'm suppose to help you through tough times like this." For the first time in a while, Blake felt something like love for his sister. She was actually trying with him.

"Thank you, Courtney.. I don't mean to sound harsh in anyway but now that you have met your apparent goal for tonight, I shall bid you a good night, dear sister. School in the morning and it is nearly midnight." She smiled at him and pat his hair down before getting up from the floor.

"Sweet dreams!" She said brightly before letting herself out of his room. He sighed of relief once the door was securely shut and he mindlessly fixed his hair from it's assault before retracting back to his thoughts.

Suppose time alone would be good.. It didn't sound good but maybe it would put things into a sharper perspective. He hoped for that type of out come and he also hoped this wouldn't last that long. He didn't want Carl to lose interest... But putting Carl to the side for a second.. Would he, himself, lose interest? That was certainly thought provoking, indeed. He doesn't know how that would be since he had already tried that and he failed miserably but since puberty is close to hitting him at full swing soon, the event might happen. His tastes could indeed change. That would be unfortunate. He just got what he wanted and he enjoyed it immensely so he just really couldn't see that happening. Carl was the true definition of how a guy should treat him... Well he was up until today at least. Carl was a strange one.. But that's what Blake loves about him. You just simply can not find another like him. He was one of a kind. Not a dull moment with him at all and that is definitely saying something because Blake does have a bad way of getting bored really quickly. Carl has a way of keeping him on his toes majority of the time and for some reason that always appealed to Blake. He was this gleam of temptation he just could not have, but when he did have it he wanted more of it. He smirked to himself as he recalled the numerous times he made Carl forget an entire conversation with a simple stolen kiss. He felt powerful during those times. Completely Addicting. Carl had the same power of course but he didn't overuse it at all. Another thing Blake liked about him.

He shook his head softly as he awoken from his cognitive state. He really needed some rest, something told him it was going to be a rough day of school ahead. Blake quickly got ready for bed and passed out thinking of how he was to handle himself around Carl Foutley...

* * *

The next morning, Carl had woke up from the strangest sleep he had encountered and yet he couldn't remember a lick of the dream that had passed him seconds ago. It just had the strangest feeling. He shook it from his head as he got himself ready for school. Since Blake's sister obviously knew about everything or at least she suspected it from the way she was talking to him last night anyway. Carl was going to unwillingly abide to Blake's wishes and start dating girls. As if it would change anything... He didn't know Courtney that well but from the things Ginger has told him, She is completely relentless. He said nothing during breakfast, It's not like he had much to talk about anyway. Everyone chatted normally around him though like normal. Ginger was putting some finishing touches on an essay that was probably due that morning. He was in no rush this morning and Hoodsey wouldn't mind if he was two minutes late. He really didn't want to be bothered with school today but if he skipped today then it would not go unnoticed... and Hoodsey would morally tear him a new one after school. He was very good at doing that. He always has been. Like he said in the past, Hoodsey was indeed his moral rutter.

"Carl, You barely touched your bacon.. Don't tell me your going vegan again?" Lois asked as she picked up his plate.

"It was vegetarian. I do understand the confusion though... But no, I'm not. I'm just not that hungry this morning." Carl explained as he picked his stuff up by the back door and left the house with his usual, "Good day!" He quickly met up with Hoodsey down the street. "Sup?"

"Not much... Just.. I ran into Macie at my house last night." Hoodsey said with a small smile. "She was just leaving from a study night with Dodie. She smiled at me!"

"I think that she might like you, Hoods my man." Carl said as he happily clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Y-You think so?" Hoodsey asked with wide eyes. "I mean, you don't think she's just being.. polite?"

"It's starting to seem that way. But we could find out for sure in a few weeks... unless things move along faster then we planned." Carl shrugged. "But I definitely think she is showing interest in you! There is no reason she shouldn't. You're a great guy, Hoods."

Hoodsey laughed in response, "Thanks, Carl. On a different note.. Are you okay? .. Your looking a bit pale..."

"I'm fine. I just had a really weird dream.. I can't remember it but I woke up feeling.. weird, Like.. I just feel out of place... I can't seem to shake it."

"Huh.." Hoodsey said in thought. "That's weird.. but not too weird for you.. you always have strange feelings.. Like remember a few years ago when you had a near panic attack at my house before calling home.. only to find out your sister's appendix burst and was rushed to the hospital... And that stupid time capsule incident after you had a nightmare. Yeah you have weird hunches all the time.. you're like half psychic or something."

"Yeah but I can't really put my finger on the cause of all this.. It doesn't feel like a hunch.."

"I dunno, Carl.. Everything is normal around here. Same November weather.. Same classmates. Same Higsby. Same Gripling... Oh..I didn't mean to bring up Blake.. I'm sorry.."

Carl just shook his head as he felt his stomach drop slightly before reminding himself that he isn't going to concern himself with it yet.. He was the same old Carl Foutley. They walked inside the crowded school and towards their lockers.. Apparently, everyone didn't want to be outside in the cold. After gathering his necessary books, he locked his locker and turned around to meet a group of four girls smiling and giggling at their own conversation.

He smirked at them, "Ladies..." He drawled politely before passing them. They all giggled at him, this was slightly amusing. He didn't understand why they were all just right behind him when there was room in the hallway. Oh well.. He didn't concern himself with it. He just continued to walk to his homeroom after receiving a questioning look from Hoodsey, He just shrugged.

Was Hoodsey thinking that he was sworn off of girls? How interesting. He thought about it as he sat down in his usual spot next to Hoodsey and Blake, whom was there since they walked in so he probably got here early. Blake seemed like he was busy reading a thick book so Carl didn't bother him with conversation. As Carl thought about gender preference he realized that he didn't really have a preference... Well, he preferred Blake but since he was dealing with a task at the moment and probably won't be done for at least a few months. He would rather wait but since Blake insisted he go out and date, he will humor him for the mean time and think about asking that Tilly twin out to a movie or something. She was alright looking. He didn't know her enough to decipher weather or not she was one of those annoying types. He didn't like gabber-mouths.. What guy does? It's not like it will last long anyway. He couldn't help but feel like he was downgrading by a ton of levels, making this decision.

Bringing himself back to the real world, Carl sighed and glanced at the delicate blonde at his right. Totally oblivious, Blake was still reading his book. He looked at ease. Perhaps he was sleeping well now. That would be great, Carl didn't want him to be unhealthy and unhappy. Looking at Blake, He had his color back to normal minus the blush. He looked replenished, maybe he had a facial done hours ago before school. Carl tore his eyes away from him when he noticed Blake sensing him staring. He directed his gaze at a tacky educational poster on the wall in front of him until the bell rang for first period class. Nothing was wrong with admiring Blake from a metaphorical distance. Metaphorical because they still hung out like friends so they were as close as they could be. He smirked at that thought as he slowly filed out of the classroom behind everyone else, following Blake to their first period class, taking his usual seat diagonally from him. He did his work quietly, until the teacher called for partners on a set of linear equations. Blake shifted his gaze around the room before approaching Carl and sitting in an empty desk next to him.

"Howdy partner." Carl said flashing him a grin, Earning an eye roll from Blake.

"Yes, Well. Shall we get to work?" Blake said sounding bored.

"Yeah." Carl said as he got up and turned his desk so they were facing each other. "I get evens you get odds like usual?" Blake hummed a meaningless 'mhmm' in response, not looking at him at all. Carl frowned as he started his set. "Bad morning, I take it?"

Blake sighed and tapped his pencil on the desk, giving Carl a raised eyebrow. "No actually, My morning was quite normal... It was last night that was the nightmare."

"I hear ya. But it wasn't all that bad, I have heard of worse dinner conversations. Last night was just comedic in my opinion. No need to dwell on it, Blakey-boy."

"I am glad you enjoyed yourself." Blake muttered almost incoherently. Carl grinned at him as he solved the first problem.

"That's complicated, I didn't exactly 'enjoy' myself, You're sister is kind of overbearing at times." Carl said in a smart tone.

"A: I was being sarcastic and B: ..I already know that fact...I live with her." Blake said returning the smart tone Carl used. Carl laughed as quietly as he could. Blake was acting so weird. Kind of like he use to before they decided to be friends. If he is going back to his usual demeanor then how would he act if he shook him a bit?

"..Just so you know.. You're looking much better then yesterday." Carl whispered, He watched Blake's cheeks grow pink. Blake blatantly ignored the comment and turned his attention to his problem set, acted like it never happened. Just as suspected. Back to his old self.. This could be fun if he decided to mess with him. Carl quietly finished his set and waited for Blake to finish so they could trade answers and double check their work before handing it in. They excelled at their group work like normal. Weather you want to admit it or not, they made a good team. After they handed in their work, Blake almost immediately went back to that thick book he was reading in homeroom, completely shunning Carl.

"So what's that book about?" Carl asked ignoring the fact that Blake didn't want to converse with him at all.

Blake sighed, slamming the book closed. "It would be none of your business, _Foutley_."

"Oh yeah?" Carl asked, inwardly getting fumed at Blake for the sudden shun. He was acting like Carl is pure evil now.. "Gimme." He said as he swiftly grabbed the book off of Blake's desk. He tried grabbing it back before Carl could read it but it was no use, Carl had longer arms then he did and he held it away from Blake successfully. Carl glanced at the title. _Healing Your Emotional Self_... a self help book.. suppose this was a step in the right direction. Carl smiled and calmly set it down in front of Blake. He gave him a smile and took his seat quietly. He wasn't going to pick on him. He was one of his best friends after all. Blake muttered something under his breath so Carl couldn't hear but it didn't matter much. Carl was happy he was trying. He thought it would have taken a little while for Blake to warm up to the idea. He didn't understand though, why he was clearly keeping it from him. They had talked about it before, what's with the cold attitude now? Carl never noticed how hot and cold Blake is. It's so weird.

Lunch period was quiet. Blake still had his nose in the book for the most part, only to stop for a small conversation here and there. When he did talk he did actually seem happy. His tone was pleasant. He actually smiled sometimes as well. This satisfied Carl to some degree, though he was still bothered by his cold attitude in first period today. He wasn't use to that anymore but if he wanted to play the reverse game then he was all for it. Whatever Blake preferred, he supposed. If he was comfortable putting a little bit of distance between them then he could live with it, just as long as it wasn't a permanent fixture to their friendship.. He never thought this relationship would have gotten this difficult. It's craziness. Sure Carl liked crazy but this was totally different. Noelle showed up at the table suddenly half way through lunch period.

"Why is it so quiet over here?" She asked instantly.

"Nice to see you too, Ms. Sussman." Blake said politely. She had obviously startled him.

"We're just not in the mood to talk." Hoodsey covered. "Where have you been?"

"I have been eating my lunch on the roof." Noelle said simply with a slight shrug. "Something feels off.. Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah we're all fine." Carl said shooting her a grin which she totally ignored.

"I don't believe you." She said, raising an eyebrow. "Especially from you, Carl... Did I miss something here?"

"You missed a lot." Hoodsey muttered, earning a kick to the shin from Carl. "Ow.. What?! She's our friend too."

Noelle shook her head amusingly at the two of them, Blake was back to his book. She looked over his shoulder, reading a passage of the left page. "I know that book.. Are you okay, Gripling?"

"Huh? Oh. I'm perfectly fine, Just doing some studies for future circumstances." Blake said hurriedly.

"Future circumstances?" She repeated with a blank stare. "Are you planning on going into psychology by any chance?"

"I might! Who knows?" Blake said abruptly slamming the book closed and shoving it in his backpack. "I shall see you all later. I'm going to go wash up before class."

As he rushed out of the lunch room, they all stared at him as he left. Noelle blinked, "Did.. I say something?"

Carl and Hoodsey shrugged at her but they both knew exactly what was wrong. Carl sighed after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.

"I think you should come over today after school, Noelle." He said quietly. Noelle just stared at him with her head cocked slightly to the side in question.

"..Okay.. Just after a meeting I have to go to.. I'm meeting up with my old flamenco teacher right after school. He wants to know if I would be willing to preform for the Holiday parade. I might accept the offer!"

"Okay, So I should expect you at around four thirty-ish?" Carl asked. "Your welcome to join us for dinner."

"I can do that." Noelle said, standing up from the lunch table. "Make it five, just in case though."

"You got it, Mademoiselle ." Carl said shooting her a smirk out of habit. She just shook her head at him with a small smile before leaving the lunch room.

"...As your best friend, I advise you to stop flirting with your ex, Carl." Hoodsey said with caution.

"Which one?" He asked in amusement, Hoodsey just frowned at him.

"Both of them." He stated honestly. "It's not doing you any good."

"I can't help it, Hoods. It's who I am." Carl said simply as he got up to dump his and Blake's abandoned tray in the garbage. Hoodsey followed him, dumping his tray as well before leaving for class.

"So I've noticed." Hoodsey muttered. "The girls in the hallway aren't an exception either I suppose."

"I was just politely excusing myself since I almost ran into them." Carl said in defense.

"Didn't seem like it to me." He said with an eye roll. "It's just.. Carl.. You can't cover up your feelings like that. It hurts you and it hurts everyone you flirt with. It's a bad way to get over things, You know."

"I'm not trying to cover up anything, Hoods.. I'm just talking to people."

"No. I know the difference, Carl. That tone you used with Noelle. That was _not_ talking."

"Okay, okay. Chill. I will think before I speak next time. I promise." Carl said dismissively as they entered the classroom and the bell rang before taking their seats. The rest of their classes passed quickly and at the end of the day, Carl went to his locker to put his books away since there was no homework assigned. Why carry books you won't need? As simple as it was, Carl was happy to have a light back pack for once. It always made the walk home more pleasant. When he closed and locked his locker for the day he watched Blake pass him like he was no one. Not even a good bye for the day. This shunning thing was much too abnormal for him. He shook his head as he turned around to walk out the school, but there once more was the group of girls again. He raised an eyebrow at them, "My apologies.. We, uh.. gotta stop meeting like this.. Don't want any of you getting hurt around here, now do we?" This earned him a few giggles from them. This was starting to weird him out so he walked around them, attempting to escape the school. He met up with Hoodsey out front on the steps of the school.

"Those girls are getting a little too obsessive, I think." Carl said in amusement as they walked out the school grounds.

"Avoid your locker." Hoodsey said with a small smile. "I think they just want you to notice them. They like you, Obviously."

"Well, they should consider themselves noticed." Carl said with a laugh. "I almost ran into them twice today."

"Girls are weird sometimes.." Hoodsey said with a slight shake of his head. "Maybe you should run into them and they will keep their distance."

"I don't want to do that." Carl said with a small cringe. "Hurting them on purpose.. That's not how I do things. Maybe I should talk to them about it... but then again, that doesn't sound all that appealing either."

Hoodsey laughed a little, "Like I said.. Avoid your locker."

Carl just shook his head in amusement. He'll find a way to deal with this. He always finds a way. Maybe he will set off a fart bomb in his locker a few minutes before his arrival so they would disperse like girls often do. The smell only lasts a few minutes anyway. "Hey. I feel weird asking this but.. What do you think about the Tilly twins?"

Hoodsey gave Carl the strangest look. "I dunno. I barely know them. Granted we do have files on all the students in the school but why would you want to know about them?"

"I'm just looking to expand my horizons and Heather has taken a liking to me recently. Since I am a free man now, Why not?" Carl explained as he jumped on a small wall in the front of someone's property and started balancing on it.

"Do you like her?" Hoodsey asked with an uncertain tone.

"I don't know." Carl shrugged as he mindlessly picked up a stick off the ground. "That's why I'm asking for your opinion."

"I don't think you should date right now, Carl. You just broke up with Blake. Give yourself some time." Hoodsey said simply. Carl jumped off the wall, landing in front of Hoodsey.

"I should.. but Heather has been prodding at me since the party. She is wondering if we could hang out before winter vacation and since that is coming up after next week.."

"It's not a good idea. What if you don't like her?"

"I end things before the second date. Simple."

"But she actually likes you, Carl. You'll hurt her." Hoodsey said sternly. Carl rolled his eyes at him.

"What I have learned in these past few weeks is that everyone gets hurt, one way or another. It's unavoidable if you have the guts to put yourself out there!" Carl said suddenly feeling angry he swung the stick at a mailbox in passing, breaking the stick in half from the force of it. "It just happens. That's life."

Hoodsey was quiet for the entire walk to Carl's place. Carl knew he shouldn't have snapped but the topic was kind of touchy for him, even though his problems with Blake were reasoned out.. the memory of the pain was still palpable to him. He shouldn't dwell on the past, but it was something he wasn't quite over with. Maybe it was a bad idea. Covering it up does no good but it's what Blake wants! He has mentioned it so many times. What was he suppose to do? If he ignored it then Blake might get mad at him and tell him to get a move on. He could probably get away with it just once...

They sat in Carl's room in silence until Hoodsey turned on the stereo, Waking Carl up from his thoughts.

"What are you going to talk to Noelle about?" Hoodsey asked when he turned the volume down to a tolerable level.

"I'm going to fill her in on everything that has happened so she understands what is going on." Carl said quietly.

"Nothing else?" Hoodsey asked plopping down on the bean bag chair.

"What else is there to talk about?" Carl asked.

"Oh I dunno." Hoodsey started. "You could apologize for flirting with her?"

"Possibly, if she was bothered by it." Carl shrugged. "I didn't mean to, it just came out like that. That's why I said, I can't help it. It's not like I like her or anything. We got past that point in our life. We have nothing to offer each other."

"Good." Hoodsey sighed. "I was getting worried for a little while there. Dating her again is the worst idea ever. She's nice, don't get me wrong but she isn't good for you. Anyone can tell you that."

"Calm down, Hoods. I wasn't even considering that at all.." Carl said as he sat on the floor and leaned up against his bed. "She is just a friend. Nothing more. There never _will_ be anything more. We are done and over with in that department. End of story."

"Okay, okay. I get it. And I won't bring it up again. I was just worried about that small possibility." Hoodsey said defensively. Carl just grinned at him and rolled his eyes. Before Noelle moved, they settled things between them for good. She was afraid he was going to wonder and grow out of his fondness for her when she left. She didn't know that he already has at that time. He just didn't like her anymore. She was a great friend and an awesome person to talk to but he just didn't see her as girlfriend material anymore. He would always be forever thankful of her because she saved his life with all the energy she had years ago. He would gladly return the favor anytime. He owed her his life as far as he is concerned.. but as a friend. They were just too different. They were still different. Even more so now then ever. She was a pretty girl, He would give her that but he just felt nothing for her anymore. From what she talked about to Hoodsey, She was getting tired of trying to live up to what he expected, Whatever that means...

He heard girls laughter growing outside his bedroom door, Ginger was home and decided to bring her friends. Hoodsey smiled a little when he heard Macie's voice ring out in the hallway before Ginger closed her bedroom door.

"You know.. I think we should go see what the girls are up to.. I have a left over micro-bug if you want to freshen up our eavesdropping skills?" Carl asked mischievously with a smirk.

"You want to give them hot coco again, don't you?" Hoodsey asked wearily.

"We don't put the bug in the marshmallows again but we put it under the tray the hot coco is on." Carl explained. "Longer time to listen, and if we are lucky... we get to hear what is on Ms. Lightfoot's mind... do you think you could spend the night, Hoods?"

"Only if Dodie gets to." He said. "It's not a weekend though. How about we save it for this weekend. I could talk Dodie into it by then."

"Whatever you say, my friend." Carl said nicely. "Let us brainstorm for a little while. Time is a-ticking and we still don't have a prank to do for our last year at good ol' Lucky Junior High. We need something!"

"What about the whole new leaf thing... We haven't gotten in trouble since we started junior high, Carl. I like not being in Milty's office.. He kind of freaks me out..."

"Just think of this as a big send off... We won't do anything until the last week of school so He won't have time to hold an investigation. Report cards are already sent out by that time so he can't hold us back. The worst that will happen is a detention and that would only be _if_ we got caught." Carl explained happily. "Extra emphasis on the word..._ if._."

"I dunno, Carl.." Hoodsey said quietly.

"Everything will be alright. The school doesn't have cameras so as long as we don't leave any record of anything laying around the school we are as gooood as gold." Carl said smoothly.

"Alright.. If you say so.. And if you are completely sure about this.. I'm in." Hoodsey sighed.

"Oh I am more then sure, Hoods." Carl said confidently. "I have spent time scoping out different situations and I am completely positive we can pull it off easily without a hitch... We just need to figure out what to do..."

"Umm.. Okay.. I have heard of a new thing called confetti bombs.. We could strategically place them in high enough spots like at the top of the statue and set them off with a push of a button when every one is in the courtyard of the school. It would be a pretty eventful send off... only if it's the absolute last day though." Hoodsey explained. "Or else it wouldn't make sense."

"That.. is something. We could do that if we get the money for it. I have been saving since I bought Blake a bike for his birthday. This is a possibility."

Carl looked over at the invitation to Blake's party on his dresser. It showed up last month and he has been totally psyched about it. His tonsils and a new bike. What more could he ask for? It would be perfect even if they weren't technically together anymore.

"We could reverse all the furniture in our homeroom.. so it's all backwards." Hoodsey said. Carl shrugged, that didn't seem like a big enough splash and they would probably have to put it all back anyway during class.

"Hmm... We could hide all the chairs in the library and stack all the tables on top of each other.."

"Hoodsey thats all kid stuff. We need something big.. Think BIG." Carl exclaimed. There was a knock on the door. He exchanged looks with with Hoodsey, "Identify yourself."

"Noelle Sussman." Her voice rang out through the door. "We have a five o'clock meeting."

"Entry granted." Carl said as he checked the time on his clock. It was five o'clock. The door opened to reveal Noelle in a light, flowy looking, red dress and black heels. Her hair was in a bun and she was holding a black sombrero with red beads dangling from it. Carl was speechless for a few seconds. He looked at Hoodsey and he just had his eyebrows up his forehead in mild shock.

"Wow.. Uh.. Noelle, You didn't have to get all dressed up just to talk to me.." Carl said with a small nervous laugh. She was really pretty, He never saw her in a dress before.

"Get over yourself, Carl.. I just got back from my flamenco practice." Noelle said as she threw off her heels at the door and sat herself down on the floor, rubbing her feet.

"You took the gig then, I take it.." Carl said with interest.

"Yes, I did." She said as the door closed it's self shut. "Now... Talk to me. I am listening."

* * *

**Another A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, if you didn't know I also have a Rocket Power Fanfic rolling so go check it out if your interested! Thanks a bunch, Keep reviewing! I love hearing from you all. ^ - ^**


	13. Interesting Idea

"..So what you are telling me.. is that you and Blake Gripling were in a relationship, then you broke up because he has self esteem issues he needs to get through..." Noelle asked after Carl had just explained the entire story to her. Carl nodded.

"That would be the jist of it, yeah." He replied.

"You _are_ a crazy man." Noelle said in false disbelief. "You let Blake go because he needs self esteem. When you were the one holding his confidence in the first place.."

"He needs to learn how to love himself before he can actually know how it is to love me.. Do you understand that?"

"I do but I also understand that he has loved you for so long that he has basically built his own life around you, Carl. He doesn't know how to do anything different." Noelle explained. "If you won't take him back right now... then at least help him out a bit."

"I would if he would let me in..." Carl said weakly. "He spent the entire day basically shutting me out. I try to talk to him but no."

"Because you had hurt him deeply, He does not know how to deal with it." She said as she shook her head a little. "Just keep letting him know that you are there for him even if he won't respond to you right now.. Just keep being there. He will come around to it eventually."

"Eventually.. " Carl repeated quietly. "What is it about that word that makes it sound so far off..."

"Because in most cases.. It is." Noelle answered calmly. Carl just groaned and covered his face with his hands. He thought about it for a little bit but then a brilliant idea hit him. He uncovered his face and smiled brightly, much to Noelle's surprise. She never saw that look before.

"I am sorry, guys but I just had an awesome idea.. I'm going to have to cut this meeting short. I need to get on this right away. Why did I not think of this before?!" Carl said hurriedly. He ushered his two guests out of the house and rushed back up to his room. This was so simple and it might just help him keep his ties to Blake.

He took out his binder full of clean lined paper and his box of white envelopes. If this doesn't work then he would be at a total loss. Time to get to work...

* * *

Blake sat at his desk in his tree house staring at his extra notebook. Nothing was written in it and he was supposed to list the things he likes about himself. This was harder then he thought it would be.

"I suppose I could start with the most obvious things.." He muttered to himself.

He took his pen in his hand for the millionth time that night and wrote at the top of the page, '_Things I like about myself_...' He sighed at it and closed his eyes, searching himself inside and out.

'_My creative talent, My strong jawline, My vast vocabulary_, …'

That was a start.. He looked down at his list and he felt unsatisfied.

'_The way my hair grew out, My height, My taste in literature, My crystal eye color, My rational thinking, My honest speaking, My long neck, My fairly clear complexion_..."

"Well.. I don't like the physical facts.. I feel as though Courtney had rubbed off on me.." Blake said to himself as he reread the list through. Sadly, they were all true.. He has to keep them. Just don't think of Courtney. This is about Blake Sofia Gripling.

'_My proportional figure, My cunning, My cleanliness, My slightly perfectionist ways, My adaptive behavior_...'

Perhaps this wasn't as difficult as he thought it would be...

'_My professional demeanor (Given the circumstances.), My sincerity, My sensitivity_..'

Don't start thinking of Carl Foutley... This isn't about him either..

'_My taste in music, My party hosting skills, My taste in décor, My personal style of clothing._..'

"That pretty much sums it up.." Blake said as he examined is list. It filled half a page. That was reasonable. "I guess I'll show Courtney on Friday.." That was the day after tomorrow. Just in case he has thought of more tomorrow. He put the notebook away and pulled his coat tighter around him as he left the tree house.

He walked into his room, thawing out from the more-than-brisk fall weather. It seemed to have gotten colder this week and miraculously enough it matched his feelings quite well. He felt saddened. Maybe he pushed Carl away too hard. He seemed bothered by the sudden attitude change. Carl didn't seem like he was going backwards anymore. It might have just been the sudden adjustment for Carl when he acted that way towards him the night before... And the fact he lost against him for once. Carl doesn't normally take well to defeat. It might have been his way of getting over the entire fiasco that happened yesterday. Whatever the reason, He shouldn't have snubbed him off that much. He is going to have to remember to apologize to him tomorrow morning. He finished that book he had taken out from the public library and it had some interesting points in it. Apparently for him, the source of his poor self esteem is the direct symptom of his father's nonexistence. It made sense.. and he was going to change that. It won't be overnight but he was determined to change this. For him. In all his eleven and three quarter years, This is the first thing he has done for himself. It felt kind of liberating! He always did things for his parents.. His sister.. It was his turn.

* * *

After being up the entire night, Carl was out and snoring on his bed when Lois poked her head into his bedroom. She was calling him for the past ten minutes with no apparent response from him.

"Come on , Carl." Lois said loudly over his last snore, He bolted up at source of the highly recognizable voice. "Get ready to go. You're going to be late if we don't leave now. I have to get to work early today so no diddle-doddling... Meet you in the car."

He just groaned and rolled off the bed when she shut his door behind her. When he was done getting ready, He grabbed one of the many envelopes off his desk and shoved it in his bag before running out the house and hopping in the car. They sped off until they came across Hoodsey walking down the street. Carl rolled down the car window.

"Sorry I'm late. Hop in, Hoods." Carl called out. Hoodsey took the offer and rode of towards the school grounds.

"Now, I wont be home until dinner time so I left money on the counter for a pizza or something.. It's gotten so busy at the hospital so when I get home tonight, I don't want any rough-housing.. okay?" Lois said as the two boys climbed out of the car.

"No sweat, Mom." Carl said through the car window.

"Love ya." Lois said as she rolled away. Carl waved as she drove off.

"So what was this big idea you had last night?" Hoodsey asked as they rushed into the school. They stopped at Blake's locker and Carl slipped in the envelope he grabbed this morning. "Oh okay, your starting the notes again?"

"Kind of. Not really." Carl said as they walked to their lockers down the hall. He looked on a head of them to see if he had a mob at his locker, There wasn't. Perhaps they gave up. "More like daily reminders. I am aiming to help boost his self esteem. I believe I wrote down maybe sixty or.. seventy separate reminders last night.. Hence the reason as to why I accidentally slept in this morning."

"Wow.. This will work?" Hoodsey asked as they grabbed their books and locking their lockers.

"I'm hoping." Carl shrugged before leading the way to their homeroom class. The two of them sat down quietly and seconds later Blake basically pranced right in before the late bell rang. Carl smiled to himself when he saw Blake was rather perky this morning. Hopefully he had gotten the little note.

As the day progressed Blake looked even happier. At lunch, he held conversation very well and he even made a few jokes. Carl was happy with this. When the school day ended, He put his books away like usual but when he was just about to leave someone blindly pulled him inside an empty classroom. Low and behold, he was cornered in by no one other then Heather. She smiled up at him as he gave her a blank stare.

"Carl." She purred with a smile.

"Heather. What are you-?" Carl started but got cut off by a dismissive 'Shh'. Carl frowned at that notion.

"Carl, I know you know how I feel about you.. You have been ignoring me since your birthday party."

"We.. have opposite class schedules, It's not like I see you all the time.. I don't mean to sound rude but.. um.. What makes you think I feel the same way about you?"

"I was hoping.. I'm not going to lie..." She said softly. Carl sighed and sat her down at a desk.

"I don't think I do." He said right out. "I thought about it... I will only end up hurting you.. and I don't want to do that."

"Wow.. Not even a test date to see..?" She asked. Her face was beet red under that red straight hair. She nervously tucked a strand behind her right ear. He shook his head softly.

"It won't work out.." Carl said tightly. Heather bit her lower lip and just nodded quickly. She followed that with a sudden motion of standing up from her sitting position and quickly left him in the room alone. He was pretty sure she was going to be spending her time crying in the girls room from how she was acting before the suddenly leave. He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. He didn't like doing that one bit but at least he was honest. He turned around to leave but came face to face with Blake, whom had silently let himself in the room. Carl was almost startled at the sudden appearance.

"Blake! Jeeze.. Give me a heart attack won't you?" Carl said with a small smile.

"My apologies... Erm.. Why did one of the twins rush out of here?" He asked as he closed the door behind him and he looked out the door window to see if anyone was looking in.

"I guess she was under the impression that I liked her or something.. I let her down as gently as I could but I guess it was no use.. Uhm why are you in here? Isn't Winston waiting for you?"

"Yes, but well... since your still here.. I figured that we must talk."

"I agree. Uhm.. You first?" Carl asked as they took a seat in the back of the classroom. Blake thought for a second and shook his head.

"No, you.. I insist.." Blake said politely as he straightened his posture, Carl shrugged as he searched his thoughts silently.

"I don't think this cover-up-dating thing you asked me to do is going to work, Blake. I can't do it. I thought about it but I decided that I will not go through with it. It's just not my thing, y'know.."

Blake looked at him with raised eyebrows and a smile slowly crept across his face. "Thank goodness... because I was going to ask you not to anyway.. I have something to tell you.."

Carl raised an eyebrow at him, "..Okay.. shoot."

"You know how my sister was.. acting.. the other night?" Blake asked and Carl gave him a slight nod. "Well.. she somehow figured it all out by herself...I admitted to it and she is going to assist me in my little.. project. So the dating thing isn't necessary.. and I would appreciate it if you.. waited.. for me..?"

Carl smiled to himself for a second before directing it towards Blake. "I was going to anyway.. weather you wanted me to or not.." Blake's face instantly lit up. "Great minds think alike, yes?"

Blake's face grew it's usual pinkish color much to Carl's liking. "I-I also.. wanted to apologize.. about how I acted yesterday.. I was way.. way out of line.. You're still my friend.. not my enemy anymore... I shouldn't treat you like you are at all."

"It's all okay, Blakey.. No problem. I acted like a jerk the other night so I kind of deserved it.." Carl said quietly as he remembered how he left Blake's house that night. "We're still on for a re-game though, right?"

"If you still want to... I can guarantee your ultimate defeat though." Blake said in a teasing manner. "I have gotten quite skilled at competitive games, If I do say so myself."

"Oh Don't count on it. You don't know what you are getting yourself into, Gripling." Carl teased back with a wink.

Blake sighed and rolled his eyes, "Don't threaten me with a good time.. _Foutley_."

Carl looked at him amusingly, that was a new one. "_Bravo_, Blakey-boy. Your getting better at this trash talking thing.. Bravo... Y'know.. I'm going to have to remember that one."

"I thought that would be a good one." Blake said beamingly as he got up from the desk. "Would you like a ride home? The wind out there is pretty... bracing.. to say the least.. Hoodsey is out in the hallway.. standing guard.."

Carl shrugged as he got up, joining Blake. "Sure, that would be great. Would you like to come over for a snack and hot tea? Video games maybe?" They walked out of the classroom, Blake shook his head slowly.

"Tempting but..I can't." He said as they met up with Hoodsey in the hall. "I have prior obligations.."

"Okay.. That's cool." Carl said as the three of them walked out of the school only to be greeted with a strong, numbingly cool wind. Blake wasn't kidding. They rushed to the lone black limo and let themselves inside at once, escaping the stifling cold.

"Oh...Well. If I didn't know better.. I would say that snow will be coming early this year!" Winston said calmly as he pulled away from the school and down the road towards the Foutley residence.

"I am pretty sure you're right, Winston." Carl said lightly as he furiously rubbed his chilled hands together. Blake turned up the heat almost instantly. It was a good few minutes before anyone said anything.

"So what is Courtney doing to help you out?" Carl asked quietly.

"I had to list things that I like about myself.. it is a rather basic exercise.. That would be all so far." Blake replied.

"Good start. Did that book help any?" Carl asked.

"Yes actually. I found out why all this happened." Blake said as he straightened up his posture for the billionth time today.

"And?" Carl asked.

"I am afraid I cannot tell you right yet." Blake said calmly. This made Carl laugh a little.

"Classified. I get it. That's cool." Carl said patiently.

"Yes, quite." Blake said with a small smile. "Eventually, I will though. So no need to worry. I just need to get use to some things."

"You want in on this year's prank, right?" Hoodsey piped in randomly. Blake blinked at him and nodded.

"Did you figure something out?" Blake asked with interest.

"Not really. We just started throwing in ideas." Carl said.

"I might have some ideas if you're still looking for some."

"Good thing tomorrow is Saturday. We now have something to discuss." Carl said before remembering something. "Hey Hoods.. Did you get clearance for spending the night tomorrow?"

"Uh.. Yeah. I talked to Dodie about it and we convinced our mom to let us." Hoodsey replied.

"Would you like to join the sleep over, Blake? You'll be over anyway for the video game competition." Carl asked smoothly. "It's just for the weekend."

"Um." Blake hummed after being slightly blinded by the invite. He's never been invited to such an event. "Yeah. That would be rather fun." Carl smiled at him before the limo halted to a stop. Carl couldn't help but feel slightly giddy at the acceptance.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Carl said before hopping out of the backseat with Hoodsey following close behind him.

"That you shall, Foutley. That you shall." Blake said airily before he closed the door on the pair that exited. After the limo drove off, Carl and Hoodsey let themselves in the empty house and made themselves at home in Carl's room.

"So.. Blake is .. sleeping over?" Hoodsey asked nervously. Carl slowly raised an eyebrow at him before nodding. "So.. uh.. Your not going to act weird are you?"

"Hoods, I think I know how to act around him by now." Carl said as he placed a hand on his best friend's shoulder reassuringly. "We're just going to hang out like we usually do. We are going to bug my sister's room so we can catch up on everything that is going on with them. Eat junk food. Yadda yadda all that good stuff. Trust me, nothing weird is going to happen."

"Okay. If you say so." Hoodsey said as he took a seat on the bean bag chair next to him. Carl felt intrigued by Hoodsey's sudden nervousness. He knew how his behavior is by now. Sure, they never had sleep overs together but that doesn't seem any different from the usual hanging out aside from it being in a longer time span and the fact Blake would be sleeping on the floor of his room.

Carl turned on some music on low before the two of them dug into their Math and Geography homework. Hoodsey had to leave for the night when Dodie, yet again, came over to pick him up by JoJo's orders. Since he was done with his studies, he wrote more notes make the total an even hundred before hitting the sack for the night and this time, he wasn't up until all hours of the morning to get them done.

**A/N: Sorry about the delay, I have had a really busy two weeks recently. This chapter is short yes but I will make it up with the next few! Promise :)**

**Keep reviewing ^-^**


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